EU Military Chiefs Call for Stronger Collective Defense Commitments

At a recent meeting of the European Union Military Committee, the chiefs of general staff from EU member states recommended strengthening the EU’s collective defense provisions, according to Euronews.

The discussion centers on Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union, which obliges EU countries to provide “aid and assistance by all the means in their power” if a fellow member state is the victim of armed aggression.

However, the clause currently defers to national defense policies and existing NATO commitments, making it more limited in scope than NATO’s Article 5.

The EU’s top military body is now exploring how to enhance the article’s effectiveness in light of growing security demands and the U.S. strategic pivot toward the Indo-Pacific.

“If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States.

Commitments and cooperation in this area shall be consistent with commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which, for those States which are members of it, remains the foundation of their collective defence and the forum for its implementation,” reads the Article 42.7.

Austrian General Robert Brieger, Chair of the EU Military Committee, stressed that the EU needs a “clear and integrated approach” to defense matters. That is why the Chiefs of General Staff who took part in the meeting issued “recommendations on the application of Article 42.7.”

The reason for the potential update, General Brieger told reporters, is that “we have found that the concentration of the European Union’s security and defense capabilities on international crisis management is insufficient at present and does not fit for the future.”

“So we need to clarify the role of European armed forces within the territorial defence of the continent. There is a clear need for close cooperation with NATO and for sure collective defence will rest in the hands of the Atlantic alliance but we know that the US is shifting their interest to the Indo-Pacific and there is a clear need to do more on European soil and by European member states.”

“And therefore we advise the politicians to think about a more concrete definition of Article 42.7: What is the concrete role? What could be the best delineation with the tasks of NATO?” he added.

Among the examples he gives are improving military mobility in Europe and strengthening the protection of critical infrastructure.

“The advantage of the European Union institutions is for sure that the European Union is capable of acting in all fields of politics, economy, security and military. So we have more tools than NATO and we try to find the best way to complement each other,” General Brieger added.

Collective security of the EU and NATO

The EU’s collective defense clause has been invoked once, after the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015. But it is generally considered weaker than Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. This is partly because it stipulates that “commitments and cooperation in this area shall be consistent with those within NATO.”

However, it is worth noting that the well-known Article 5 of the NATO Treaty is also not absolute and, strictly speaking, does not oblige one to go to war in the event of an attack on one of the Allies.

“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security,”reads the Article 5 of NATO.

More details are available in our special report: “The European Commission’s Vision of the EU’s Defense Policy: The ‘Awakening of Europe’ Plan and Its Impact on Ukraine.” (in Ukrainian)