Media: The EU will conduct training simulations of the application of the provision on mutual assistance in the event of an attack

The EU intends to work out how it will respond if one of its countries is attacked.

“European Truth” reports about this Politico with reference to a high-ranking EU official.

In the first operation of its kind, Europe’s top diplomat Kaia Callas is due to oversee so-called “table-top” exercises next month to find out how the bloc’s mutual assistance clause, Article 42.7, will work in practice, a senior EU official said. The plan is to test the bloc’s political rather than military response.

“After that, we will conduct an exercise with (defense) ministers to see how it works in practice,” the official said.

This article stipulates that if an EU member faces “armed aggression”, other members are obliged to provide it with “assistance and support by all available means”. The article does not specify whether such assistance includes a military response and contains language referring to neutral states such as Austria and Ireland.

The simulation will take place in the EU Committee on Political Affairs and Security, which includes influential EU diplomats.

Most EU members are also members of NATO and are therefore subject to Article 5 on mutual defence, which expressly mentions the use of military force to assist other signatories.

However, transatlantic tensions, including US President Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland, have shaken faith in Article 5 and sparked renewed interest in the EU’s security mechanisms.

Another factor contributing to interest in Article 42.7 is the increased risk of an attack on EU states.

After Cyprus was targeted by drones launched from Lebanon in March, it was the country that expressed interest in studying how Article 42.7 would work in practice, the senior official said. A summit of EU leaders will be held in Cyprus next week.

We will remind, against the background of the war in Iran, Trump said that he is seriously considering the possibility withdrawal of the United States from NATO.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that after the end of the conflict in Iran, the United States will review the need for membership in NATO.

According to the media, the White House considers the punishment plan some NATO members who, according to President Donald Trump, did not help the US and Israel during the war in Iran.

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