The upcoming NATO summit in The Hague is set to be the most expensive one to date, with total estimated costs reaching €183.4 million, according to AD. When broken down by the time world leaders will actually be meeting, the cost comes out to more than €1 million per minute.
The summit will begin with the formal “North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state and heads of government” on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at the World Forum in The Hague. The meeting is scheduled to last for 2.5 hours, followed by a closing press conference with NATO chief Mark Rutte at 2:00 p.m.
In contrast to previous NATO summits in Washington, Vilnius, and Madrid, where world leaders held three such meetings, this summit will feature just one. According to NATO sources, the decision was influenced by the temperament of U.S. President Donald Trump, prompting Rutte to opt for a shorter format.
While this reduces the number of meetings, it also makes the summit the most expensive in terms of cost per minute. It also ranks among the priciest in absolute terms. For comparison, the 2013 NATO summit in Wales cost €81.3 million, the 2022 summit in Madrid cost €50 million, and the 2023 summit in Vilnius cost €30 million — though the latter figure excludes the additional costs of air defense and naval ships sent to Lithuania.
In addition to the formal meetings, the world leaders have been invited to a “social dinner” at Huis Ten Bosch Palace on Tuesday evening. During this time, Foreign Ministers will meet with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Earlier that day, Defense Ministers will convene with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to address issues related to the defense industry.
Organizers of the NATO summit in The Hague did not comment on AD’s cost breakdown. However, they previously emphasized that the event is far more than just the world leaders’ meeting, encompassing a wide range of discussions and events.
SJN
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