NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) 鈥� leaders meeting in need to start preparing a playbook on what should happen if a member country facing attack puts out a call for help from bloc partners, the president of Cyprus said.
In an exclusive interview on Tuesday, President Nikos Christodoulides said EU leaders will discuss 鈥済iving substance鈥� to Article 42.7 of the bloc鈥檚 treaties, which oblige all 27 member states to assist each other in times of crisis.
The article states that if a nation is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, its partners should provide 鈥渁id and assistance by all the means in their power.鈥� It has never been used before so there鈥檚 no hard and fast rules on how EU members should respond to any call for assistance.
鈥淲e have Article 42.7 and we don鈥檛 know what is going to happen if a member state triggers this article,鈥� Christodoulides told The Associated Press ahead of an EU-Mideast summit he is hosting later this week, expected to focus on the Iran war and its fallout. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e going to have a discussion and prepare, let鈥檚 say, an operational plan of what is going to happen in case a member state triggers this article, and there are a number of issues.鈥�
The issue resonates particularly with Christodoulides, who appealed for help from fellow EU countries last month when a Shahed drone on the island鈥檚 southern coastline. Cypriot officials said the drone was launched from Lebanon whose capital is just 207 kilometers (129 miles) away from Cyprus鈥� southern coast. Greece, France, Spain, The Netherlands and Portugal dispatched ships with anti-drone capabilities to
Clarification needed on countries that are also NATO members
Christodoulides said since many EU countries are also members of NATO, the playbook should clarify how those countries would respond to a call for help from an EU partner without conflicting with their obligations under the military alliance.
NATO鈥檚 own security guarantee, Article 5, states an attack on one ally is deemed an attack on them all, requiring a collective response.
鈥淪o what is going to happen in this situation if a member state is both NATO member state and an EU member state? What is going happen?鈥� Christodoulides said.
Another issue that needs to be addressed under the Article 47.2 is whether a response would be a collective one in the NATO mold or just one for states neighboring the country in distress. There鈥檚 also the issue of what means would need to be used to deal with varying types of crises.
Christodoulides said he鈥檚 pleased to see that fellow EU leaders now 鈥渦nderstand the importance鈥� of bringing the bloc closer to the Middle East with such initiatives as the Mediterranean Pact that implements specific projects on a range of issues including health, education and energy in Middle Eastern countries.
Closer EU ties to the Middle East has been a key priority for Cyprus鈥� EU presidency, which Christodoulides said offers a 鈥渧ery good opportunity…to give substance鈥� to that objective. Attending the informal EU leaders鈥� summit later this week will be the leaders of Egypt, , Syria and Jordan, affording the opportunity 鈥渘ot just to exchange ideas but to see in action how we elevate our cooperation in a strategic level.鈥�
鈥淲e can represent the interest of the countries of the Greater Middle East to Brussels, but at the same time, and this is very, very important, the countries in the region, they trust Cyprus to represent them in the European Union,鈥� he said.
‘A win-win situation’
Christodoulides is a strong proponent of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor a trade, energy and digital connectivity corridor that would link the continent with the world’s largest democracy and is hoped to usher peace and stability in the Middle East.
Christodoulides said under the Cypriot EU presidency, a 鈥淔riends of IMEC鈥� group has been set up to promote the initiative, which still lacks what he said are more specific projects. One such project is the Great Seas Interconnector, an electricity cable connecting the power grids of and Cyprus and eventually Israel that has been plagued by delays.
鈥淲e can work together with the Americans, with the U.S. Government, with President Trump in order to give substance because it will be a win-win situation for both the European Union and the United States鈥� with additional concrete projects, Christodoulides said.
New energy sources
The Iran war again brought the need for the EU to diversify its energy source into sharp relief. Christodoulides said he鈥檚 in talks with the EU鈥檚 executive arm on how Cyprus鈥� own can help the bloc find alternative energy sources and routes.
He said Commission will unveil on Friday 鈥渧ery specific proposals鈥� regarding energy costs and how the bloc can become more energy independent.
Christodoulides said the EU has made significant strides in hastening its decision on making mechanisms but has failed to deliver on its pledge to add new members in the last two years, diminishing the trust that prospective member nations have in the union.
鈥淪o we have a strong geopolitical tool that we are losing mainly because of our mistakes. The situation today is much better. We are deciding in a much faster, let鈥檚 say, pace,鈥� said Christodoulides. 鈥淎nd enlargement is one of the geopolitical tools that, as a European Union, we need pretty soon to have specific decisions.鈥�
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