Europe tests defense plans without America as doubts grow over NATO
Photo: German army soldiers (Getty Images)
The European Union will hold exercises simulating the activation of the mutual defense mechanism provided for in Article 42.7 of the Lisbon Treaty, reports Bloomberg.
Why Europe needs this
According to a senior EU official, the exercises will first take place among ambassadors in Brussels and then at a defense ministers' meeting in May in Cyprus. The issue will also be brought up at an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus next week.
Article 42.7 of the Lisbon Treaty states: if a member state becomes the victim of armed aggression on its territory, other EU countries are obliged to provide it with aid and assistance by all means in their power.
This wording is stronger than NATO's Article 5, which speaks of such action as it deems necessary (including, but not necessarily, the use of armed force). However, the EU does not have the military power and structures that NATO possesses.
Why now
The exercises are a response to Donald Trump's threats to withdraw from the North Atlantic Alliance and his stated desire to annex Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark). Transatlantic ties have come under threat, and Europe is looking for ways to take security into its own hands.
Article 42.7 has been activated only once – by France after the 2015 terrorist attacks. At the beginning of 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for reviving this mechanism.
Cyprus's special interest
Cyprus, which is not a member of NATO due to its long-standing conflict with Türkiye, is particularly interested in strengthening Article 42.7. At the beginning of May, an Iranian drone struck a British military base on the island, highlighting the region's vulnerability.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated directly that the EU must move toward creating its own army and deepening defense integration in order to take security into its own hands.
Discussions on creating a European defense system have intensified significantly across Europe. As the WSJ reported, European countries are secretly developing a Plan B in case the US withdraws from NATO – to be able to independently deter Russian aggression without the support of American troops.
However, the main obstacle remains the slow pace of rearmament. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized during a meeting in Brussels that weapons production in Europe needs to be urgently accelerated – the current pace is too slow for the existing threats.
