NATO’s summit meeting in Wales (4-5 September 2014) comes at a vital time in the alliance’s 65-year history when the global security environment is becoming increasingly unpredictable and unstable. In addition, NATO is preparing to complete its longest combat mission and to open a new chapter in its relationship with Afghanistan.

Both Sweden and Finland are to sign 'host nation support agreements' allowing assistance from NATO in emergency situations, officials said earlier this week.

An independent Scotland would not automatically become a part of NATO and would have to apply for membership, according to the Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

By Jan Oberg, Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research, Sweden,

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski sa