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The article 42-7 of the EU treaty provides that in case a EU country is “subject to an armed aggression on its territory, the other member states must assist and support it by all means in their power”. Activated only once during the wave of terrorist attacks in 2015, its application still remains unclear.
Facing uncertainties about the commitment of the United States in defending the Old Continent, the European Union is gearing up to test its mutual assistance clause in the form of a simulation, a “war game”, indicated a EU official on Friday, April 17. Concerned by the threats of NATO withdrawal recently launched by US President Donald Trump, Europeans are seeking to strengthen their collective security.
They have been encouraged to do so by the recent Iranian drone strikes in Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council.
What are the practical implications?
The idea is to conduct a “practical exercise”, first in May at the level of the 27 ambassadors in Brussels, before another exercise, this time at the level of the ministers themselves, explained the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. One of the possible scenarios would be a major hybrid attack against the EU, according to diplomatic sources.
The mutual assistance clause among the 27, provided by article 42-7 of the EU treaty, states that in case a EU country is “subject to an armed aggression on its territory, the other member states must assist and support it by all means in their power”. Article 42-7 was triggered only once, by France during the 2015 Islamist attacks. However, the obligations and consequences resulting from this activation have remained unclear.
“What we are going to do is examine and review the practical aspects: how does it work? What can we do?” said the European official.
During the Munich Security Conference in February, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called on the 27 to breathe life into their own mutual defense clause without duplicating NATO, whose article 5 also provides for a mutual defense clause. Twenty-three EU member states are also NATO members and do not want to encourage the US under Donald Trump to disengage from this military alliance.
The article 42-7 is “not a mutual defense clause. It is a mutual assistance clause,” emphasized the senior EU official.
