The summit marks NATO’s 60th anniversary and its venue straddling the frontier of foes-turned-allies France and Germany will be packed with symbolism aimed at celebrating an alliance originally created to defend Europe’s borders.
Leaders will welcome France’s return to full NATO participation, after a Franco-US schism dating to the days of Charles de Gaulle, and usher in new members Albania and Croatia.
They will look at ways too to rebuild ties with Russia, whose help it sees as vital in a host of global security issues.
De Hoop Scheffer is due to stand down in July and NATO had wanted to name his successor at the summit, but concerns over its image in the Muslim world and elsewhere are hampering the quest for the right candidate.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the front runner, but NATO member Turkey is unhappy with his handling of a 2006 row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that caused riots in the Muslim world.
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