Lower Thirds:

0;24	Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General 
0:24	Marker: June 25, 2026 
1:29	Claudia Major, Security Expert, German Marshall Fund
2:07	Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General 
2:07	Marker: June 26, 2026 
2:41	Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense
2:41	Marker: June 18,  2026 
3:07	Katharina Kroll, DW Bureau Chief, Brussels 
3:31	Claudia Major, Security Expert, German Marshall Fund
4:06	Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor 
4:06	Marker: July 1, 2026 

((info: 
Unity is the central goal of this year's NATO summit. Secretary-General Mark Rutte is working to keep the alliance focused on shared security challenges as tensions linger between the United States and its European allies. While NATO members have pledged to boost defense spending, concerns remain over Washington's long-term military commitment to Europe. Rutte is betting that closer defense-industrial cooperation and increased military investments can help hold the alliance together. The summit will be a crucial test of NATO's ability to present a united, credible and capable front in defending its members.

Script:

A charm offensive in the Oval Office – with a serious goal. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is desperate for the alliance's summit to show unity. But President Trump remains angry with Europe’s reluctance to support his war against Iran.

+++ SOT Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General +++ Marker: June 25, 2026 
"I know there have been debates about whether your allies in Europe were with you enough. I just want to say one thing."

(SOT TRUMP) : "They weren't!"

+++SOT Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General +++
"Yeah, but let me say one thing. I know your thinking. And I know about the, let's say, your irritation about that. But. When you look at the numbers, 4,000 to 5,000 US planes taking off from bases in Europe in the six weeks this war took place."

Rutte used the visit to shower Trump with praise for pushing the other allies to boost defence spending.

+++ SOT Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General +++
"I want to show you what this President was able to achieve. And I start with this chart. This chart is about the Trump trillion. The Trump trillion shows you the increase Europeans and Canadians are paying into defense since you took office in 2017."

It's unclear whether Rutte's campaign in the Oval Office shifted Trump’s stance. So the summit now becomes another stress test for NATO, according to political scientist Claudia Major.

+++ SOT Claudia Major, Security Expert, German Marshall Fund +++
"It's a rather difficult environment in which the summit takes place, the war in the Middle East NATO allies have to try to send the message that NATO is still strong and send a strong deterrence message. And so far, many allies really worry whether this is going to work."

At last year's summit in The Hague, most allies pledged to raise defense spending to 5 percent of their GDP. This year, Rutte wants to prove that they are delivering.

+++ SOT Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General +++ Marker: June 26, 2026 
"The Hague was a big success, but then to deliver on the commitments, and that's what I'm seeing is going to happen in Ankara, is even more important. Because in the end, Putin is not afraid of commitments. He is afraid of implementing those commitments. And that's exactly what we are doing, Vladimir. We will defend ourselves."

But this is harder for Europe to do if the US goes through with announced plans to withdraw important capabilities from NATO's shared resources.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a six month review of troops and weapons deployments in Europe.

+++ SOT Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense +++ Marker: June 18,  2026 
"Our national defense strategy states clearly that we're going to incentivize and enable our allies to step up and do their part, WEISSBLITZ or CUT (()) It's a review that some countries will fail, and others will pass with flying colors."

European Allies worry not just about a shift in U.S. policy - but about its speed - And whether it will create gaps NATO cannot afford - given the threat environment.

((+++ PTC Katharina Kroll, DW Bureau Chief, Brussels +++
"That is why Rutte is putting defense industry at the heart of the summit in Ankara. Promising a "defense industrial revolution” worth tens of billions of dollars in contracts. The hope is that this can unite the alliance. Security for Europe - and business for the United States."))

A strategic move from Rutte:

+++ SOT Claudia Major, Security Expert, German Marshall Fund +++
"NATO Secretary General Rutte really would like to focus that summit on defense industrial issues. in order to show that there is a market for the US industry and also in order to make an economic case in favor of NATO that Trump hopefully will find attractive. Whether this is going to work, we don't know. If we have learned one thing about the US president over the last one and a half year is that he can be very disruptive and it's difficult to predict what he is going to do."

Days before the summit, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz didn't sound worried:

+++ SOT Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor +++ Marker: July 1, 2026 
"We will meet the US Government as equals.. America is one of 32 NATO partners. We are one of 32 NATO partners. Oon the European side of NATO — including Canada, by the way — we are well coordinated. So we are certainly entering next week with confidence. And we are telling the Americans: you depend on us. We  depend on you. Together, we are capable of defending ourselves."

(("Wir begegnen der amerikanischen Regierung auf Augenhöhe. Amerika ist einer von 32 NATO-Partnern. Wir sind einer von 32 NATO-Partnern. Aber wir sind auf der europäischen Seite der NATO – im Übrigen auch mit Kanada – gut abgestimmt. Also wir gehen durchaus selbstbewußt in die nächste Woche. Und wir sagen den Amerikanern: Ihr seid abhängig von uns. Wir sind abhängig von Euch. Wir zusammen sind verteidigungsfähig."))

There are reasons for cautious optimism. At last month’s G7 summit, Trump joined the other leaders in agreeing to put more pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Now, NATO leaders hope the President will reaffirm the core principle of the alliance: an attack on one, is an attack on all.

E N D