The heads of state and government of NATO member countries, along with the Alliance’s partners, held what has now become the regular “annual” NATO summit in Madrid from June 28 to 30, 2022. Notably, this was the third NATO summit that year, following the virtual meeting on February 24 and the extraordinary in-person summit in Brussels on March 24. As NATO had never held three summits in a single year in its 73-year history, the 2022 Madrid summit already stands out as a historic milestone.
To this, one may add the (previously unplanned) invitation of new countries—Finland and Sweden—to join the Alliance, as well as the adoption of a new Strategic Concept. Many are therefore likely to view this summit as historic for several key reasons. First, NATO–Russia relations have taken on a level of confrontation unseen since the end of the Cold War, with Moscow now identified as “the most significant and direct military threat”—yet frameworks and channels for consultation have not been dismantled. As a result, member states are strengthening their defense capabilities further; for the first time, permanent deployments with command elements are being established on the territory of eastern member states, and military deterrence measures are being given renewed emphasis.
Second, the People’s Republic of China appears for the first time in a NATO Strategic Concept as a challenge—carefully balancing between the dynamics of U.S.–China great-power competition and the economic interests of Europe–China cooperation.
This analysis reviews the most important decisions made at the Madrid NATO summit and evaluates them from a strategic perspective, while also reflecting on the relevant elements of the newly adopted Strategic Concept.
