European security at the crossroads

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 turned European security on its head, exposing a fractured defense infrastructure that has weakened over decades. The intensity and pace of events, as well as the demonstrable risks, have accelerated dramatically since—with the return of President Donald Trump to the Oval Office raising existential questions for the trans-Atlantic alliance, given his past statements calling into doubt his commitment to NATO’s Article 5.

In this context, NATO member states are expected to commit to much higher targets for defense and security spending at the Hague summit on June 24-26. And the United Kingdom has just completed and released its Strategic Defence Review (SDR), a first-of-its-kind defense planning document and perhaps its most noteworthy in the country’s post-Cold War history.

On June 18, Brookings Foreign Policy will host a webinar with two of the distinguished external reviewers who led the SDR—Lord George Robertson, former NATO secretary general and British defence secretary, and Brookings Senior Fellow Fiona Hill—and additional Brookings experts to discuss these and other matters concerning European security at this crucial juncture.

Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing [email protected] or via Twitter @BrookingsFP using #NATO.