Media: EU to test mutual defence clause amid NATO strains

The European Union will conduct simulation exercises of its mutual assistance mechanism in the event of an armed attack on a member state, in a move highlighting growing concerns over transatlantic security ties, EU officials said.

The drills will replicate decision-making procedures under Article 42.7 of the EU treaty, which obliges member states to provide “aid and assistance by all means in their power” if another member is the victim of armed aggression, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

According to a senior EU official, the exercises will begin with discussions among EU ambassadors in Brussels before being expanded to a defence ministers’ meeting in Cyprus in May. The issue is also expected to be raised at an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus next week.

The initiative comes as European capitals assess the reliability of longstanding security arrangements with the United States, following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting a possible withdrawal from NATO and his stated interest in acquiring Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Article 42.7 of the EU treaty is, on paper, more strongly worded than NATO’s Article 5, which commits allies to consider collective action in response to an armed attack but leaves the form of response to individual states.

However, the EU lacks NATO’s integrated military command structure and large-scale operational capabilities.

The EU mutual assistance clause has been invoked only once, by France after the 2015 Paris attacks, prompting political rather than military coordination among member states.

In early 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the clause to be made more operational, reflecting renewed debate over the EU’s role in collective defence.

Cyprus, which is not a NATO member due to its longstanding dispute with NATO member Turkey, has been among the most vocal supporters of strengthening the EU’s security framework. The island’s position has been shaped in part by regional tensions, including a reported Iranian drone strike on a British military facility in Cyprus earlier this year.

NATO’s Article 5 has been activated once in its history, following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

By Aghakazim Guliyev