Europe's Leaders Hope for Change in Direction at NATO Summit

BRUSSELS — 

NATO leaders are going to Brussels for a summit meeting on Thursday expecting to agree on key principles. With Monday's attack in Britain overshadowing the meeting, there will be quick consensus¹ on the need to keep fighting terrorism both at home and abroad, in places like Afghanistan.

How to do it is a different question. 

The war in Afghanistan is one of the key topics European leaders hope to learn more about when they meet with U.S. President Donald Trump². 

The U.S. leader wants a boost in NATO contributions for the effort, but Germany’s Angela Merkel has indicated she is lukewarm about this and will wait for NATO discussions on the matter. “We are also coordinating³ the cooperation of about 20 member countries which are active there,” she said earlier this month.

“I am going to wait for the decisions. I do not think we're first in line to expand our capacities there,” Merkel said.?

Pressing again for NATO members' payments

Aside from the Afghanistan war, Trump has made clear he wants alliance members to meet minimum contribution levels, and spend two percent of their gross national income on defense⁴. Only five of the alliance’s 28 members - the United States, Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland - are doing so.

European leaders expect to hear a reaffirmation that NATO’s anti-terrorism work extends beyond Europe and the Atlantic.

Former British Foreign Minister David Owen said NATO "is a vehicle for the world" already. 

"Actually it is a global entity⁵, and I think there is a case for expanding that now to dealing⁶ with ISIS," Owen told VOA. "I know this is controversial, but I think if it’s approached carefully and steadily⁷, we will see NATO accepting that it is right for there to be an extension of the remit⁸ [authority] from Iraq to go out and to deal with ISIS, and I think it’s a much better way of American power being globally used within the framework of NATO.”

There are disagreements going into the meeting, but there is also the prospect⁹ of progress in some key areas.

Manchester attack highlights global war on terror

The global fight on terror is on the NATO summit agenda. In the wake of the Manchester attack, Britain’s Theresa May was expected to present a strong case in support of more coordination¹⁰ among allies to tackle terrorism, something analysts¹¹ said would further bolster¹² the view that NATO remains¹³ relevant and necessary.

Russia also looms¹⁴ large for European leaders at both the NATO summit and the G-7 meeting that follows in Italy. 

Germany, Austria and others hope for a new direction in relations with Moscow following the Ukraine crisis, as continued sanctions against Moscow have created pressure on western European nations dependent on Russian energy exports. 

European leaders also hope to use the NATO summit to ease tensions with Turkey following the recent referendum that gave President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping¹⁵ new powers, and raised new concerns about growing authoritarianism¹⁶.

Waiting for Trump...

A dispute between Turkey and Austria emerged on Tuesday when reports said the Turkish government has suspended cooperation with NATO members following Austrian opposition¹⁷ to Turkey’s membership in the EU. Austria is not a member of NATO but its troops sometimes partner with alliance forces.

The big hope among European leaders is that seeing Trump face to face and hearing him repeat assurances that he no longer believes NATO is obsolete¹⁸ will quell¹⁹ anxieties about the U.S. role as guarantor of Europe’s security.

Reports quote NATO sources as saying officials will hold off on issuing a formal declaration as is common after some summits. It may depend on what is said at the meeting. In this time of transition and surprises, that is something no one can predict.

1 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 remit   

v.汇款，汇寄；豁免（债务），免除（处罚等）

参考例句：

• I hope you'll remit me the money in time.我希望你能及时把钱汇寄给我。
• Many immigrants regularly remit money to their families.许多移民定期给他们的家人汇款。

9 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

10 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

16 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

19 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。