The Mutual Defence Clause in the European Union: An Analysis of its Past, Present and Future

Emma Bartmann; Christina Jacobs

doi:10.17176/20250626-121847-0

The Mutual Defence Clause in the European Union: An Analysis of its Past, Present and Future

Emma Bartmann
, Christina Jacobs

Junior professorship of Public Law, European Law and Public International Law, in particular Environmental Law and the Law of the Sea

University of Hamburg

Research output: other publications › Articles in scientific forums or blogs › Research › peer-review

Abstract

This Saar Blueprint examines the legal architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance in Europe. The security situation in Europe has changed dramatically in recent years. Not least due to Russia’s war against Ukraine since February 2022, calls for a (military) mutual assistance system among European Union Member States – one that is independent of NATO – have grown louder. Against this backdrop, this article examines and compares the conditions and legal consequences of the NATO collective defence clause and the mutual assistance clause under EU law, including in the context of Ukraine’s potential accession to the EU.

Translated title of the contribution	Die Beistandsklausel der Europäischen Union: Eine Untersuchung ihrer Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft
Original language	English
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.17176/20250626-121847-0
Publication status	Published - 26.05.2026

Research areas and keywords

Law
Politics

Access to Document

10.17176/20250626-121847-0Licence: CC BY-SA

Cite this

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