On July 11-12, 2023, the 36th NATO summit was held in Vilnius. The topics discussed at it were largely conditioned by the war that has been going on for more than a year in Ukraine. In this perspective, it is worth recalling what NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, pol. Organizacja Traktatu Północnoatlantyckiego), when and why it was established, what countries are its members and what obligations they have.
In the first part of the Report, experts from the Polish League Against Defamation conducted a comprehensive analysis in which, in addition to presenting the history of NATO’s establishment and explaining the main purpose of the Alliance’s existence, which in April 1949 was to provide defense against potential attack from the Soviet Union and its satellite states, (later affiliated by the Warsaw Pact created in 1955) they also discussed issues related to the evolution and expansion of the Alliance after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The second part of the Report is a structured source of information, showing the historical value and significance of the 36th NATO Summit in Vilnius, to which, in addition to representatives of the Member States, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski was invited, as well as the heads of state of Australia, Japan, Sweden, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. The foreign ministers of Georgia and the Republic of Moldova and the deputy foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina were also present, further emphasising the importance of the event.
In this section of the Report, we have conducted an analysis of the important topics that were taken up at the NATO Summit. We discussed issues such as the agreement between the Turkish President and the Swedish Prime Minister in the important aspect of Sweden’s accession to NATO. In addition, we presented issues related to the Far East countries in the context of the policy pursued by China and key developments related to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Our study presents the position of Poland, which, as the largest state on NATO’s eastern flank, has long raised the alarm about the threat posed by Russia and Belarus to global security, and indicates the Summit’s provisions in the context of Poland’s articulated needs to maintain security in our region. In addition, the analysis identifies issues directly related to Ukraine and the fulfilment of its expectations of joining NATO. The final, extremely important, element of the Report is a summary of the NATO Summit in Vilnius.
At this point, we would like to draw your attention to the annexes, which are a valuable addition to the Report.
Annex 1, which contains 90 points summarising the NATO Summit.
Annex 2, which is a summary of these points.
We encourage you to read the contents of the latest Polish League Against Defamation Report „NATO Summit in Vilnius”.
Our publication is available in PDF format (for reading on computer screens or for printing).
To download the latest our Report, please click the button.
