When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

On June 24 and 25, NATO leaders met in The Hague for a summit, where they focused much of their attention on increasing defense spending to 5 percent of GDP annually and on affirming unity among the allies — notably working to ensure that U.S. President Donald Trump, who raised significant questions about the value of the NATO alliance during his first term as president, remained within the fold. The gathering took place immediately after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran took effect and amidst ongoing war in Gaza and between Ukraine and Russia. We asked five experts to share their views on the summit’s outcomes regarding several key issues — including defense spending, NATO expansion, support for Ukraine, and reactions to the Israeli-Iranian war.Read more below.Sara Moller Associate teaching professor and director of International and Alumni Affairs, Georgetown UniversityThe challenge now is getting from aspiration to implementation. As tough as it was for NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to get everyone — minus Spain — to commit to 5 percent on paper, that was actually the easy part. The hard part is what comes next: making sure that money is spent wisely, in a coordinated and accountable fashion, and tied to real capability outcomes. Germany, to its credit, has taken early steps by outlining its defense budget plans for the next four years. However, much of the borrowing that will fund the largest spending increases is backloaded into the final two years — raising concerns that Germany and other allies may delay implementation and kick the can down the road.Another complicating factor is the temporary scope of the European Union’s recent easing of fiscal rules under the ReArm Europe framework, which gives member states a temporary escape clause to increase defense spending without triggering the excessive deficit procedure — a mechanism