EU leaders have agreed that the European Commission “will prepare a blueprint” on how the bloc will respond if the little-known mutual assistance clause is triggered, according to Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, who is hosting the talks.
They discussed the mutual defence clause, article 42.7 of the EU treaty, on Thursday night, before reports emerged that the US was exploring how to suspend Spain from Nato.
That comes amid concerns of how the US would respond (or not) in the event of a foreign attack against allied nations, many of which he has openly criticized for not getting involved in his and Israel’s joint war on Iran, which has destabilized the region and rattled much of the global economy.
This month Trump said he was “absolutely without question” considering withdrawing the US from Nato, pushing the 77-year-old alliance towards the worst crisis in its history. Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister – who has been the most vociferous European critic of the war in Iran – said on Friday that Spain was a loyal Nato member, while renewing his criticism of “the failure of brute force in the Middle East”.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Thursday 23 April.