Albania’s bid to host next year’s NATO summit is under serious threat after the country failed to demonstrate credible progress toward the alliance’s new defence spending target of 5 percent of GDP. The draft conclusion for the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for 7–9 July, reportedly omits any mention of Albania as the next host, a deliberate signal from NATO officials to pressure Tirana to increase its military expenditure.
A NATO source confirmed on Wednesday that the situation remains unchanged, describing the omission as a “strong message” to Albania that it could lose its hosting role unless it “steps up and spends”. The alliance agreed last year at The Hague to raise the defence spending benchmark to 5 percent of GDP by 2035, a dramatic increase from the previous 2 percent target. Albania currently allocates only about 1.49 percent of its GDP to defence, far short of even the older threshold.
US Criticism of ‘Free Riders’
The United States has been vocal in its condemnation of NATO members it views as not pulling their weight. US Ambassador to NATO Mathew Whitaker told journalists on Wednesday that European countries can no longer “free ride” on the alliance’s defence architecture, complaining of “freeriding on American taxpayers – which has been the case by some at the NATO alliance”. US President Donald Trump confirmed he will attend the Ankara summit, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Albania is not alone in facing scrutiny. Slovenia and Czechia have also been identified as underperformers, despite NATO’s 2025 report listing both as having reached the 2 percent mark. NATO sources have told Euronews that those figures are inaccurate, suggesting that the alliance is tightening its oversight of member states’ spending commitments.
The pressure on Tirana comes amid broader tensions within NATO over burden-sharing. The alliance’s 32 members are meeting in Ankara, hosted by Turkey, where defence spending and the war in Ukraine are expected to dominate the agenda. NATO Chief Rutte recently met with Trump to ease tensions ahead of the summit, underscoring the high stakes for European security.
Implications for Albania and the Region
For Albania, losing the summit would be a diplomatic setback. The country has positioned itself as a reliable NATO ally in the Western Balkans, hosting Italian migrant detention centres and contributing to alliance missions. However, its defence spending remains among the lowest in the alliance. MEPs were recently denied full access to Italy’s migrant detention centre in Albania, highlighting ongoing scrutiny of Tirana’s governance.
The US demand for credible spending plans is likely to resonate with other European allies that have long urged greater investment in collective defence. The 5 percent target, while ambitious, reflects the alliance’s response to heightened threats from Russia and instability in the Middle East. European countries that fail to meet the target risk being sidelined in key decision-making processes.
As the Ankara summit approaches, all eyes will be on whether Albania can salvage its hosting role. The message from NATO and Washington is clear: words are no longer enough. Tirana must show it is willing to invest in its own defence and that of the alliance, or face the consequences.
