NATO will not hold its next summit in Albania in 2027, Prime Minister Edi Rama has said, ruling out the previously planned meeting amid uncertainty over the alliance’s summit schedule.
Speaking in Dublin ahead of a gathering of European leaders, Rama said NATO members had yet to agree on when the next summit would take place.
“The issue is that there is not yet common position on when the summit will happen, for sure not in 2027,” he said.
He added that Albania could host the meeting in 2028 if the alliance decides to hold one that year.
Plans for a NATO summit in Albania in 2027 had already been thrown into doubt following resistance from the administration of US President Donald Trump and concerns among alliance members about Tirana’s low defence spending.
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NATO has also been considering whether to end its recent practice of holding annual summits, a move that could help avoid a potentially difficult encounter with Trump later in his term.
Diplomats say the alliance could still decide at short notice to hold a summit in 2026, although it would not take place in Albania.
A NATO official said on Thursday that the next summit would be held in Albania, but that a date had yet to be decided.
At its June 2025 summit in The Hague, NATO leaders said they looked forward to meeting in Türkiye in 2026, followed by a gathering in Albania.
However, the declaration adopted at the alliance’s summit in Ankara in July this year made no reference to a date or location for its next meeting.
