“The European Commission will prepare a blueprint on how we respond in case a Member Sates triggers article 42.7” of the EU Treaty, declared Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday 24 April, the second day of the extraordinary European summit.
According to him, the EU institution is invited to answer the following questions in the event of activation of this clause, which provides for mutual assistance in the event of armed aggression against an EU country: “What are the needs? Who responds first?” We need to “formalise” this clause in order to “transform a political statement into predictable action”, added the Cypriot leader, arguing that “the EU must act as a credible guarantor of security”.
Cyprus is one of only four EU countries not to belong to NATO, where a similar mutual assistance clause applies (Article 5). Mr Christodoulides welcomed the fact that “all Member states, NATO and non NATO members, see the necessity to have an operational plan” at EU level, citing in particular “Poland’s” willingness to move forward on this issue.
At the beginning of March, several drones flew over Cypriot territory, causing disruption to air traffic. Without formally activating this clause, the Cypriot authorities had obtained military support from five countries - Greece, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Italy - to secure its coastline and ensure that the extraordinary European summit could take place.
The Dutch Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, pointed out that his country “has stationed a ship to contribute to the defence of Cyprus, particularly against possible new missiles and drones”. “We should increase the number of operations of this kind”, he said, describing the provisions of Article 42.7 of the EU Treaty and Article 5 of the NATO Treaty as “complementary”.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, cited the example of the EU’s “Civil Protection Mechanism”, which provides an effective “cascading” chain of response. She also highlighted the importance of the pre-activation period of Article 42.7, during which it is still possible to detect tensions and avoid escalation into armed conflict.
The Commission is preparing a new European security strategy for the summer (see EUROPE 13788/21).
The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has indicated that his country will use the opportunity offered by the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU, “in the second half of 2027, to deepen this debate”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and Solenn Paulic)