As world leaders grapple with Donald Trump’s second term, his war with Iran has accelerated European multipolarism, with leaders on the continent searching for alternative solutions to American isolationism. How far should Europe pool security and defence? Should there be a European version of the Anglo ‘Five Eyes’ alliance, as the Netherlands’s coalition government, led by their new prime minister Rob Jetten, has suggested? Is the proposal from Renew Europe – the European Parliament’s centrist grouping – for a Nato-like trade alliance between European countries and their democratic allies – like Canada, Japan and South Korea – realistic? 

The crisis has also injected some energy into Brussels, with reports that the European Union is trying to resolve the ambiguity around its own mutual assistance clause. Less well known than Nato’s Article 5, the EU’s Article 42(7) states that ‘member states shall act jointly in a spirit of solidarity’ if activated – including through military aid. It has only been triggered once, by France, in response to the 2015 terrorist attacks. There remains ambiguity, however, about how and when member states should activate the clause. 

For those countries which are members of both Nato and the EU, the clause also says that Nato remains ‘the foundation of their collective defence’. It is unclear how to resolve tensions between the two and how the EU instrument actually works. 

Any flexibility shown by the EU raises interesting questions for........

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