The little-known clause that Europe’s security may now depend on

M ost people have heard of Nato’s article 5 . The “one for all, all for one” clause states an armed attack on one member country should be considered an attack on all, requiring member states to come to the victim’s aid – including with “the use of armed force”. Not so many, till this week, had heard of the EU’s own mutual defence clause, article 42.7 (pdf) , which says that if a member state comes under armed attack, the others “shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power”. That’s perhaps because there hadn’t, until recently, been much need for Europeans to consult article 42.7. More than 40 US military bases and 85,000 troops across the EU (and UK) were testament to Washington’s defence commitment to the old continent. But times have changed. Earlier this year Donald Trump threatened to invade Greenland – and Denmark, a Nato member state, took the threat seriously enough to prepare for war, sending explosives and bloodbags to its largely autonomous territory. Two months later, the US president attacked Iran, without consulting European allies – then demanded they join in, called them “cowards” when they declined to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, and dismissed Nato as a “paper tiger” . He has said he is “absolutely” considering pulling the US out of the alliance. …