From July 9 through July 11, NATO will celebrate its 75th birthday at a summit in Washington, DC. US officials foreshadowed three themes of this summit: celebrating 75 years of the alliance’s existence, emphasizing progress on defense burden-sharing, and aiding Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

Despite modest increases in European defense spending, the United States still carries a disproportionate share of the continent’s defense burden. At a time when there is increased pressure on US resources from debt, deficits, and other regions overseas, the transatlantic alliance needs rebalancing.

On the first day of the Washington summit, join us for a half-day conference examining how the alliance arrived at its current condition, as well as proposals for burden-shifting and an updated view of US interests in Europe.