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European Union countries should have “multiple guarantees” for security in line with NATO Article 5, Andrius Cubilius said on Monday, including developing “clear mechanisms” for how the region’s own mutual defense provisions will work.
“We Lithuanians have learned in our history that for security it is better to have multiple guarantees,” the European Commission president said from Vilnius, where he was attending a conference entitled “Defense of the Baltic States 2025: Lessons from the war from Ukraine”.
“In addition to the NATO Article 5 guarantees, the European Union Article 42.7 guarantees would also be good to have guarantees with clear mechanisms on how they will be implemented. It would also be good to have guarantees that all Eastern Bloc countries will come to protect each other in the same way they are preparing to protect themselves,” he added.
The EU’s mutual defense clause (Article 42.7 of the Treaty of Lisbon) was approved in 2007 and has been in force since 2009. Like the NATO equivalence clause, this is primarily a political tool; traditionally considered weaker Compared to Article 5.
Part of the reason is due to the fact that most EU member states are members of the military alliance and regularly conduct joint exercises under the direct command of NATO.
Moreover, U.S. involvement in NATO continues to be seen as decisive by small European states, particularly those bordering Russia, some of which host thousands of U.S. troops.
The former Lithuanian prime minister began his keynote speech by reiterating the view of several European intelligence agencies that Russia could be ready to test NATO Article 5 by the end of this decade.
Faced with that threat, European countries are rushing to rearm, with the European Commission submitting a plan earlier this year that would see up to 800 billion euros invested in defense by 2030. The strategy identifies nine priority areas, including ammunition and unmanned aerial vehicles, and four so-called flagship projects that should be urgently funded.
Eastern flank surveillance. drone wallthese projects are also included because hybrid attacks involving airspace violations are becoming increasingly commonplace, and peripheral countries are considered the most vulnerable to Russia.
Although the package relies heavily on NATO to operate, defense is still strictly guarded as a national capability in the EU.
President Donald Trump said in July that the United States remained committed to the alliance after the alliance agreed to a major increase in defense spending, but that came after months of disparaging the low spenders and questioning continued U.S. support.
The United States also announced last month that the brigade in Romania would not be replaced after the change. Washington, Bucharest, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte All tried to downplay the concerns. Regarding partial withdrawal.
Kubilius’ call on Monday echoes that of Gen. Robert Briger. Before finishing his role he said: Earlier this year, as head of the European Union Military Commission, the EU’s highest military body issued a recommendation on the operationalization of Article 42.7, saying it was “not suitable for the future”.
In his speech, he advocated for “veteran Ukrainian military forces” to be stationed in other European countries for added security.
Kubilius is expected to announce two new defense packages on Wednesday. One aims to accelerate the introduction of new technologies such as AI and quantum into the field, and the other aims to improve and speed up military mobility across the European continent.
