The 2016 Warsaw Summit of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) was the 26th formal summit of the

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and

heads of government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

of the

, held at the National Stadium in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland, on 8 and 9 July 2016.

Agenda

Poland

Polish president Andrzej Duda announced in August 2015 that NATO bases in Central Europe were a priority for the Warsaw Summit, and wanted for Poland to be included in the Normandy Format talks. Members of NATO on its eastern flank, who in November 2015 convened into a group called the Bucharest Nine, felt threatened by a revanchist Russia, and he said he will raise the issue with Angela Merkel, who had "previously blocked efforts to place NATO troops in central and eastern Europe, saying it might strain relations with Russia."

Outcomes

* Strengthening the alliance's military presence in the east, with four battalions in Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on a rotational basis – to be in place by 2017. This became known as NATO Enhanced Forward Presence. * Allies declared Initial Operational Capability of NATO's Ballistic Missile Defence to counter threats posed by Iran and further afield, North Korea, to the European continent. * Pledge to strengthen individual nations' and collective cyber defences, and recognise cyberspace as a new operational domain. * Commitment to improve member state resilience. * Start training and capacity building inside Iraq. * NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS surveillance planes to provide information and intelligence to the Global Coalition to counter ISIL from Turkish and international airspace. * Agreed to an expanded maritime presence in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

to cope with the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

and human trafficking. * Continue the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan beyond 2016, confirmed funding commitments for Afghan forces until 2020. * NATO-Ukraine Commission reviewed the security situation in Ukraine, endorsed government plans for reform, agreed a Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine. * NATO Secretary General signed a Joint Declaration with the Presidents of the European Council and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

to take partnership between NATO and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

to a higher level. Declaration sets out areas where NATO and the EU will step up cooperation – including maritime security and countering hybrid threats posed by a more aggressive Russia.Tardy, Thierry, and Gustav Lindstrom: �
The Scope of EU-NATO Cooperation
�� in ''NATO and the EU: The Essential Partners''. NATO Defense College, 2019.

Future summits

Normally NATO summits take place every two years, but after the Warsaw summit it was announced that the next alliance summit (27th) would take place in 2017 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

to inaugurate the new €1 billion NATO headquarters building. The next major summit (27th) took place in

in 2017.

Leaders and other dignitaries in attendance

NATO Ministers for Defence at the 2016 Warsaw Summit in Poland

Notes

References

External links

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NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

{{NATO summits Diplomatic conferences in Poland 2016 conferences 21st-century diplomatic conferences NATO summits Conferences in Warsaw Poland and NATO 2010s in Warsaw July 2016 in Europe 2016 in Poland 2016 in international relations