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  • Increased support to Ukraine NATO Allies agreed on a package with three elements that will bring Ukraine closer to NATO. This includes a multi-year programme of assistance to help rebuild the Ukrainian security and defence sector and ensure full interoperability between the Ukrainian armed forces and the Alliance; the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a new forum for crisis consultations and decision-making, where NATO and Ukraine will meet as equals; and the reaffirmation that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agreement to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan, changing Ukraine's membership path from a two-step process to a one-step process.
    
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  • Strengthened deterrence and defence NATO Leaders agreed to further enhance NATO's deterrence and defence posture in all domains, including strengthening forward defences and the Alliance's ability to rapidly reinforce any Ally that comes under threat. The Alliance put in place a new generation of three regional defence plans for the north, the centre and the south of NATO that build on existing strategic and domain-specific plans. To execute these plans, NATO will put 300,000 troops at higher readiness, including substantial air and naval combat power.
    
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  • More ambitious defence investment pledge NATO Leaders set a new and more ambitious defence investment pledge, in which Allies will invest a minimum of 2% of Gross Domestic Product annually on defence to resource NATO's new defence plans and force model, as well as to contribute to the Alliance's operations, missions and activities in a more contested security environment.
    
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  • Deepened cooperation with partners NATO Allies agreed to deepen cooperation with partners from the Indo-Pacific region, namely Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand. NATO will continue to work with them closely on issues such as cyber security, hybrid threats, maritime security, climate change and new technologies. Their already second participation in the NATO meetings at summit level shows that security is not regional but global, and is underpinned by the shared commitment to upholding international law and the rules-based international order.
    

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  • Deterrence and defence Since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, NATO has implemented the largest reinforcement of the Alliance's collective defence in a generation, enhancing its ability to defend all Allies on land, at sea, in the air, in cyber space and in space. In response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO is further stepping up its deterrence and defence, including with new regional defence plans and a new force model with more troops at higher readiness.
    
    Read more:
    Deterrence and defence
    Collective defence and Article 5
    NATO's military presence in the east of the Alliance
    Operations and missions
    NATO exercises
    NATO's nuclear deterrence policy and forces
    NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence
    NATO Air Policing: securing Allied airspace
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  • Support for Ukraine NATO Allies are providing an unprecedented level of support to Ukraine, helping the country uphold its right to self-defence, as enshrined in the UN Charter. This includes air defences, tanks, artillery and training for Ukrainian soldiers, including on fourth-generation jet fighters. These contributions help Ukrainians defend their country and retake occupied land. All Allies agree that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, that NATO's door remains open and that it is for Ukraine and NATO Allies to decide on NATO membership.
    
    Read more:
    NATO's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine
    Relations with Ukraine
    Relations with Russia
    NATO-Russia: setting the record straight
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  • Investing in our defence To keep our people safe in a more dangerous and competitive world, NATO Allies have been stepping up defence spending and investing in key capabilities. By the end of 2022, European Allies and Canada had invested well over USD 350 billion extra since NATO Leaders agreed the Defence Investment Pledge in 2014. In Vilnius, Allies will decide on a new Defence Investment Pledge to spend a minimum 2% of their GDP on their defence annually.
    
    Read more:
    Funding NATO
    Information on defence expenditures
    
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  • Partnerships NATO is stronger and safer when it stands with like-minded partners to defend the rules-based international order. That is why the Alliance is stepping up cooperation with its network of partners, including in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific region, and with other international organisations, in particular the European Union. Finland and Sweden were invited to join the Alliance at last year's summit in Madrid. Finland joined NATO earlier this year. Sweden is already more deeply integrated in every aspect of NATO's work, and will join as soon as all Allies have ratified its Accession Protocol.
    
    Read more:
    Enlargement and Article 10
    Relations with Sweden
    Relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Relations with Georgia
    Relations with the Republic of Moldova
    Relations with partners in the Indo-Pacific region
    Relations with the European Union
    Relations with the United Nations
    
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  • Broader security challenges NATO faces challenges not just from conventional military threats, but also from broader sources of instability and disaster like terrorism, climate change and new technologies. That is why the Alliance is committed to a 360-degree approach to security, ensuring that Allies can maintain their resilience and protect their people from all potential threats. NATO and Allies are working together to tackle these challenges – including by adopting a climate change and security action plan, cooperating with the EU to protect critical infrastructure, and launching a new innovation accelerator and investment fund to develop emerging technologies and maintain NATO's technological edge.
    
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    Countering terrorism
    Cyber defence
    Emerging and disruptive technologies
    Environment, climate change and security
    Countering hybrid threats
    Resilience, civil preparedness and Article 3
    Energy security
    Human security
    Women, Peace and Security
    
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  • NATO: stronger together For almost 75 years, the bond between Europe and North America has made NATO the strongest alliance in history. Together, NATO Allies prevent conflict and preserve peace for one billion people on both sides of the Atlantic. The commitment at the heart of NATO is that an attack against one Ally is an attack against all. NATO's Article 5 guarantee of collective defence is the foundation of our security and prosperity.
    
    Read more:
    NATO's purpose
    NATO member countries
    The consultation process and Article 4
    Collective defence and Article 5
    NATO History
    

To find more information on NATO-related subjects, search the Encyclopedia of NATO topics.