; (2) the risks of miscalculation in a crisis are exacerbated by the Russian Federation’s shift to a military doctrine of escalate to de-escalate , lowering the threshold for Russian use of nuclear weapons and thereby increasing the risk of using nuclear weapons, potentially escalating in to a massive nuclear exchange; (3) strengthening effective and credible conventional deterrence, particularly on the northeastern flank of NATO, is a political and military priority; (4) NATO’s formal adoption at the 2014 Wales Summit of the goal for each member state to allocate at least two percent of its gross domestic product to its national defense budget within a decade should be commended, as increased defense spending by NATO member states is strongly encouraged to maintain the alliance’s strategic vitality through the enhancement of its collective capacity; (5) reaffirming support for the principle of collective defense in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty for NATO allies is vital to a strong and meaningful alliance and is not conditional; (6) subversive and destabilizing activities by the Russian Federation targeting NATO allies and partners causes concern and should be condemned; (7) strengthened deterrence efforts by NATO allies, including NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence, should be commended and enhancing defense cooperation efforts with NATO allies and partners should be encouraged; (8) European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) investments are long-term and, as such, Congress expects future budgets to reflect United States commitment by planning for funding in the base budget, and further EDI should build on United States presence by increasing the United States permanent force posture