Dispatch from NATO, U.S. strikes Iran and Le Pen is back
US President Donald Trump gestures while speaking during the bilateral meeting at the Beştepe Presidential Complex following Trump’s arrival to attend the annual NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on July 7, 2026.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
Hello, I’m Leonie Kidd coming to you from London.
Welcome to the Daily Open newsletter, a special edition featuring a post from CNBC Anchor Steve Sedgwick about the contentious NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye.
What you need to know today
ANKARA, Türkiye — So how did NATO’s European leaders perform on Day One of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, also known as Operation “Keep Donald Trump on Your Side”?
Not bad for trying to show how much money Europe spends on its own defence, with multibillion-dollar deals announced with some of the world’s largest military contractors.
In fact, if this conference were to prove to the United States that there is a plan and that it is being implemented (that the 5% spending commitment is not a distant mirage and that real efforts are underway to achieve that goal), then Tuesday could have been a big day for Europe.
CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick speaks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb at the NATO Summit in Ankara.
Michael Green
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, dubbed “Trump’s Chief Whisperer”, was once again at the forefront of the hearings and praised progress in “shifting the burden” of Europe’s defense from the other side of the Atlantic.
And yet, as the great European military tactician Helmuth Von Moltke said more than a hundred years ago: “No plan survives first contact with the enemy” (I prefer this version to Mike Tyson’s alternative: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”).
President Donald Trump is not the enemy here, but he certainly is. A. The big challenge for European leaders trying to keep NATO together.
The problem is that, as Rutte and others try to get ahead of Trump on spending, the US president brought up an old feud upon his arrival and in a press conference with his host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the US still feeling like it should control Greenland.
Greenland again! European leaders must have thought someone had been put to bed in Davos in January, but now he’s back. Who saw it coming? Sign? Ursula? Friedrich? Emmanuel?… No, I thought not.
Anyone playing whack-a-mole?
Trump threats
The NATO news flow continues and Trump is making one of them. The boldest threats yet to their European allies: “We can take all our troops out of Europe.” His comments at the NATO Summit came after he renewed his call for the US to take Greenland, saying it “should be controlled by the US, not Denmark”.
Amidst the new wave of attacks between Kiev and Moscow, Ukraine was also at the top of NATO’s agenda. Speaking to CNBC, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that Ukraine had already won by preserving its sovereignty for more than four years, while Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, “Time is not on Russia’s side right now.”
‘Powerful hits’
Following the attacks, the US Treasury Department also canceled Iran’s oil sales permit.
“Iran will only benefit if it behaves well,” a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions, told CNBC. “Iran’s actions in the Bosphorus are completely unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences.”
Futures in the U.S. and Europe were little changed in early trading as investors assessed the developments. An overall negative session for stocks across Asia-Pacific.
Is Le Pen more powerful than the court?
Farage’s gamble
Right-wing politician Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK in England, His resignation from parliament would trigger a special election that he would frame as a contest of “order against the people”. But rival parties including Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have said they cannot nominate candidates against him, meaning his victory could be seen as meaningless.
—Leonie Kidd
And finally…
Stellantis plans to offer the Fiat Topolino, an all-electric quadricycle vehicle, in the US
Stellantis
Chrysler parent On Tuesday, Stellantis said it had started orders in the US for its small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle, starting at $13,995.
Although the Topolino looks like a small car like the Fiat 500, the EV is actually a quadricycle that operates more like a golf cart.
Stellantis said Topolino It is capable of going 19 miles per hour with an electric range of up to 46 miles. According to the Trans-Atlantic automaker, a low-speed vehicle conversion kit can increase top speed to 25 mph to make it street legal on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less.
-Michael Wayland
