Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU Summit in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026. PETROS KARADJIAS / AP
The EU will lay out a "blueprint" for how its mutual assistance clause works if a country is attacked, Cyprus' leader said on Friday, April 24, as President Donald Trump cast doubt on the US commitment to NATO. Attention has increased on Article 42.7 of the EU's governing treaty – meant to help any member state that comes under attack – as Trump has deepened questions over whether Washington would help defend NATO allies.
Cyprus, one of the few EU countries not in NATO, has spearheaded a push to define how the clause works after a drone struck a British base on the island at the start of the Middle East war in March.
"The [European] Commission will prepare a blueprint on how we respond in case a member state triggers Article 42.7," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said as he hosted a summit in Nicosia. "All member states, the member states that are NATO members but also those countries that are not NATO members, they see the necessity to have an operational plan."
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