Thursday's global agenda: Countdown to NATO summit

Your morning global affairs speed-read:

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee gears up for the May 20-21 NATO summit with a hearing Thursday morning on the organization's future. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon and James Townsend Jr., the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy, will testify.


This year's summit in Chicago is the largest ever, with more than 60 countries and organizations participating. The agenda will focus on the organization's commitment to Afghanistan through the 2014 transition and beyond; ensuring that NATO has the capacity to deal with the challenges of the 21st century despite worldwide budget cuts; and strengthening the organization's network of partners around the globe.

The conversation on Afghanistan suffered an early setback with France's election of François Hollande, who is expected to announce his intention to withdraw French troops by the end of the year at the summit. President Obama has offered to meet with Hollande prior to the summit. Obama also met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday and discussed their expectation that NATO would be in a position to announce progress on a number of key capabilities initiatives, including missile defense, according to a White House press release.

Congo: The House Financial Services subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade holds a hearing on “The Costs and Consequences of Dodd-Frank Section 1502: Impacts on America and the Congo.” The regulations require companies to understand their entire supply chain and report whether they use so-called “conflict minerals” to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The disclosure requirement aims to curtail funding for the groups fighting in Congo but has raised concerns that it's too burdensome for corporations to follow.

Trade: The U.S. Census Bureau releases trade balance numbers for the month of March at about 8:30 a.m. today. The U.S. trade gap in February unexpectedly shrank to $46.0 billion from $52.5 billion in January, with imports dropping 2.7 percent.

Greece: Two years after Europe bailed Greece out to protect the euro, the rescue has become a debacle that threatens to unravel the common currency, reports The Wall Street Journal. 

Syria: Two explosions outside intelligence headquarters in Damascus killed 40 people in the deadliest attack since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad started 15 months ago.

China: The Federal Reserve approved plans by three state-backed Chinese banks to expand in the United States.

What you might have missed on Global Affairs: 

State Department to Congress: More money for Arab countries

Russian President Putin snubs Obama, will miss G8 summit

Rep. Jackson questions aid to Pakistan, says nation was 'harboring' bin Laden

International request for politician's arrest draws US into Iraqi political crisis

---