The gate of the U.K.’s RAF Akrotiri air base at sunset after it was struck by a drone earlier in the morning near Limassol, Cyprus, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo\/Petros Karadjias, File)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-04-23T05:02:47Z<\/p>\n
BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 The European Union is set to ramp up tests on rules that oblige the bloc\u2019s 27 member countries to help each other in times of crisis, as the reality sinks in that Washington\u2019s commitment to NATO and security<\/a><\/span> in Europe under U.S. President Donald Trump is evaporating. <\/p>\n At a summit in Cyprus starting later Thursday, leaders will work on \u201can operational plan\u201d to make best use of the EU\u2019s military, security, trade policy and other assets in times of need, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides<\/a><\/span> told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n In mid-May, EU envoys will take part in \u201ctable-top exercises\u201d to game out how Article 42.7 of the bloc\u2019s treaties could be used to provide collective assistance to a nation in the event of an attack or an invasion by a country like Russia<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n EU defense ministers are expected to carry out similar tests a few weeks later. The exercises are focused on political decision-making and don\u2019t involve armed forces, government agencies or other assets in the field.<\/p>\n Under NATO\u2019s Article 5 security guarantee<\/a><\/span>, an attack on one ally is deemed an attack on them all and one that requires a collective response, often, though not exclusively, by military means.<\/p>\n It\u2019s only ever been activated once, in support of the United States following the Sept. 11 attacks and led to NATO\u2019s failed 18-year security effort in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n The EU\u2019s Article 42.7, which was drafted to avoid conflict with Article 5, has also only been used once, at the request of France following terror attacks in Paris in 2015 that left more than 130 people dead<\/a><\/span> and more than 400 others wounded.<\/p>\n The EU article states that if a nation \u201cis the victim of armed aggression on its territory,\u201d its partners should provide \u201caid and assistance by all the means in their power.\u201d<\/p>\n It provides that such help should be in accordance with the U.N. charter and not conflict with NATO commitments, and the clause makes allowances for the neutrality of member countries like Austria and Ireland.<\/p>\nLike NATO\u2019s Article 5, but not exactly<\/h2>\n