2018 Brussels NATO summit

The 2018 Brussels Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was the formal meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, held in Brussels, Belgium, on 11 and 12 July 2018.

WWW Official Site

Events

On 10 July 2018 the so-called 2018 Brussels Joint Declaration was signed, between Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk and Jens Stoltenberg.
On the opening day of the conference the President of the United States, Donald Trump, caused controversy by asserting that Germany is beholden to Russia over its involvement in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline project aimed at doubling energy imports from Russia. This was the first time he addressed the leaders since the inauguration ceremony of the new NATO Headquarters, at which he stressed a similar point. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted defensively to Trump's comments and tried to deflect them with: "I am very happy that today we are united in freedom, the Federal Republic of Germany. Because of that we can say that we can make our independent policies and make independent decisions."

Leaders and other dignitaries in attendance

Non-member states and organisations

– Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
– President Ilham Aliyev
– President Sauli Niinistö
– President Giorgi Margvelashvili
– Prime Minister Zoran Zaev
– Prime Minister Stefan Löfven
– President Petro Poroshenko
– President Ashraf Ghani

Security

For the first time a RF Drone Detection System was used.

Aftermath

The New York Times reported on 9 August 2018 that Trump's senior national security advisors, concerned that Trump might disrupt the summit as he did by refusing to sign the communiqué at the June G7 summit, scrambled to secure a formal policy agreement during the weeks before the summit.