EU tests mutual defence clause in hybrid attack drill

Representatives of EU member states have rehearsed the activation of the bloc's mutual defence clause in preparation for a possible large-scale hybrid attack.

Diplomats told dpa that Monday's crisis exercise involved the ambassadors of EU member states responsible for security policy, as well as experts from European institutions.

The results are also expected to feed into preparations for a plan to strengthen the EU's mutual defence clause.

There was initially no detailed information on the course of the exercise for reasons of confidentiality. It was only confirmed that officials had used a fictional but realistic scenario to test whether crisis response and coordination would function in the event of hybrid attacks.

Such attacks can include cyberattacks on power grids, illegal drone flights and acts of sabotage.

Plans to strengthen the clause have been under way in the EU for some time. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed such efforts at the Munich Security Conference in February.

The aim is to make the EU less dependent on the United States and prepare for cases in which NATO might be unable to act, for example because of a veto by Washington.

Diplomats said scenarios were also conceivable in which the EU could act in addition to NATO, for instance by putting pressure on an adversary through trade policy or diplomatic measures.

The mutual defence clause, Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union, states that if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states are obliged to provide aid and assistance by all the means in their power.

Article 42.7 is worded more strongly than Article 5 of the NATO treaty, under which alliance members have discretion over how they come to an ally's aid in the event of an attack.

The EU's mutual defence clause has so far been activated only once, after the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015.