SUMMARY
The 
2014 events which have shaken the international scenario, have also changed the agenda of the Summit that will bring together in South Wales on September 4-5, the Heads of State and Government of the Atlantic Alliance. In addition to the end of the operations in Afghanistan and the revision of the partnerships system, the Summit needs to restate the role and the level of ambition of NATO, combining a credible collective defense, an effective crisis management and a cooperative security based on enduring partnerships .
The aggression against Crimea has dramatically reminded the Allies the primary commitment of collective defense and the crucial role of the art. 5 of the Atlantic Treaty, which must be considered in a modern key, including the cyber threat, the fight against terrorism and the necessary capabilities for an effective missile defense.
The upcoming summit in Wales will have the task to further deepen this bond through a Transatlantic Declaration which will constitute a new security and solidarity contract, committing the two sides of the Atlantic to a new and more balanced sharing of responsibilities. However, the growing gap between the two sides of the Atlantic in expenses and investments for the Defense is undermining not only the interoperability in operations between the NATO European countries and the U.S. ally, but the transatlantic link itself based on the indivisibility of security.
NATO will try to compensate the limited budgetary resources by a further strengthening of the programs on the capabilities development and sharing, such as Smart Defense, and the Connected Forces Initiative. Moreover, the adoption at the NATO Summit in Wales of a Readiness Action Plan will ensure a tight schedule exercises able to maintain the operational readiness of forces, such as the NATO Response Force or the special Forces, which will no longer be used in theaters such as Afghanistan. At the summit, NATO will also launch a Defense Capacity Building Initiative, which aims to assist partner countries and not, in in the field of security sector reforms, and for the development of the armed forces are able to autonomously manage future crisis situations.
Among the issues on the NATO agenda, the partnerships system is the one that requires the most profound reflection, in order to reinvigorate a tired concept, though of an undoubted success in the recent history of the Alliance. While reaffirming the “open door” policy of, the Wales Summit will not announce any enlargement of the Alliance.
Finally, NATO needs to promote a security culture able to reconnect the citizens with the fundamental values of the Alliance. Therefore, at the Summit, the Alliance will be called to update the guidelines of its political action and to redefine its strategic communication as well. As stated in the Report on the Non military Cooperation of NATO, authored by Gaetano Martino in 1956, “a sense of community must bind the people as well as the institutions of the Atlantic nations.” To this end, the NATO strategic communication must be univocal, clear and credible, as well as supported by an effective and coordinated public diplomacy activity.
Along this line is the strengthening of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA), the organization connecting NATO and the public opinions of the member and partner countries of the Alliance.
An extended Italian version is here