French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly defended Europe's ability to protect itself, declaring that the mutual defence clause enshrined in the EU treaty is unambiguous and "not just words." Speaking during a visit to Athens, Macron highlighted that the clause, known as Article 42(7), has already been put into action when several EU member states rushed military aid to Cyprus after a drone attack on a British airbase on the island on 28 February.
Macron: EU Clause Proven in Cyprus
"On article 42, paragraph 7, it's not just words," Macron said. "We know that for us, it is clear and there is no room for interpretation or ambiguity." The French president, in Greece to renew a bilateral strategic defence agreement, described the clause as "stronger" than Article 5, NATO's collective defence provision. He reiterated his long-standing belief that Europe should boost its own security rather than rely on an increasingly erratic United States under Donald Trump. "I really believe this US approach will last," he added.
EU Leaders Fine-Tuning Defence Mechanism
A day earlier, EU leaders attending an informal council in Cyprus said they were refining plans on how the obscure clause would function in practice. European Council President António Costa stated on Friday: "We are designing the handbook on how to use this mutual assistance clause." Macron questioned the effectiveness of NATO's Article 5 when asked about the alliance, noting that doubt had been cast by the US president. "There is now a doubt on Article 5, not put on the table by the Europeans but by the US president," Macron said during a discussion with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Roman-era agora. "It is clearly a de facto weakening of the NATO alliance... I am a strong believer in the European pillar of NATO, and my view is that we should strengthen this European pillar."
Mitsotakis Calls Cyprus Aid a 'Gamechanger'
Mitsotakis agreed, describing the decision to send fighter jets and naval support to Cyprus as "a gamechanger" for the bloc. Amid fears that the EU's easternmost member could face sustained retaliatory attacks during the early days of the US-Israeli war against Iran, France, Greece, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal scrambled to provide assistance. "What we did in Cyprus was a gamechanger," Mitsotakis said, insisting that the little-known defence pact must now be taken seriously. "We have a mutual assistance clause in our treaties, and this is our European responsibility. We never spoke about it because we thought that NATO would always do the job... we need to take this article much more seriously; we need to look at the Cypriot lesson, think about what could happen in another case, have exercises in terms of what it would mean if we were again to offer support to a European country under threat." Doing so would be a "political statement" that the EU does not rely solely on NATO and would be "also good for NATO," he added.
US Criticism of NATO Raises Concerns
Infuriated by NATO's failure to support strikes against Iran, the US president has stepped up criticism of the transatlantic alliance, further raising concerns that Washington's commitment to Article 5 can no longer be guaranteed. Macron, making his third official visit to Greece before leaving office next year, said the strong alliance between the two nations should serve as a model for the rest of the EU. On Saturday, an unprecedented nine accords were signed between the countries, foreseeing increased cooperation in areas including scientific research and nuclear technology. Macron vowed that France would stand by Greece if it ever came under attack from its neighbour and long-time regional rival, Turkey.
Macron: Europe Must 'Wake Up' as Geopolitical Power
In 2017, Macron, newly elected, used the dramatic setting of the ancient Pnyx beneath the Athens Acropolis to deliver a rousing policy speech on the future of Europe and the virtues of democracy. Nine years later, the tone could not have been more different. At a time of significant geopolitical uncertainty, Macron said Europe had to "wake up" and claim its place as a geopolitical power, facing opponents it had not faced before. "We should not underestimate that this is a unique moment where a US president, a Russian president, and a Chinese president are dead against the Europeans," he told the audience. It now remained for a continent that had managed to end centuries of civil war and deliver prosperity to "write the next chapter and become a geopolitical power."
