02/14/2026, 11:4302/14/2026, 11:43
At the Munich Security Conference, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for bringing the European mutual assistance clause to life in order to make herself more independent from the USA. “Mutual assistance is not optional within the EU, but an obligation enshrined in the Treaty – in Article 42(7),” she said. The promise “One for all and all for one” only has weight if it is based on “trust and the appropriate skills”. “I believe it is time to bring the European mutual assistance clause to life,” she said.
Ursula von der Leyen wants to bring the European assistance clause to life.Image: keystone
In Munich, Chancellor Friedrich Merz had previously spoken out in favor of greater engagement with the EU assistance clause. He explained that we had to “spell out” how we wanted to organize the obligation under Article 42 at a European level.
Without defense there is no independence
Von der Leyen now said that in addition to the military build-up and the acceleration of decision-making processes in the EU, in her view this also requires a new European security strategy. “I believe we urgently need to rebalance how we use all our policy tools – trade, finance, standards, data, critical infrastructure, technology platforms, information,” she said.
We must ensure that Europe is always able to defend its territory, its economy, its democracy and its way of life. “Because ultimately that is the true meaning of independence,” she said.
Offer to Great Britain
Von der Leyen also spoke out in favor of closer cooperation with Great Britain. “In these extremely turbulent times, Europe and especially the United Kingdom should move closer together – on security, the economy or the defense of our democracies,” she said. Ten years after Brexit, people are as dependent on each other as ever with a view to the future.
Debate about the mutual assistance clause in the Greenland conflict
The meaning of Article 42 paragraph 7 of the EU Treaty was recently discussed again in the wake of the conflict over Greenland instigated by US President Donald Trump. The EU made it clear in January that Germany and the other EU states would have to provide assistance at Denmark’s request in the event of a violent conflict.
The paragraph specifically states:
“In the event of an armed attack on the territory of a Member State, the other Member States owe it all the assistance and support in their power (…).”
It is therefore formulated even more sharply than Article 5 of NATO. According to this, the alliance states have discretion as to how they come to the aid of the allies in the event of an attack. Denmark could not declare a NATO alliance anyway because the USA would also have to agree to it.
The EU assistance clause has only been activated once after the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. Germany then took a much more active role in the fight against the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. Among other things, Tornado jets were made available for reconnaissance flights. (hkl/sda/dpa)