Press Release: Mutual defence clause: what the requirement to help out other member states means

The mutual defence clause, requiring EU countries to help a member state under attack, was invoked for the first time by France in November 2015 in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris.

Following the amount of questions about the procedure to follow and the role of the European Union in it, the European Parliament's plenary held a discussion on 20 January 2016 on the subject and vote on a related resolution the following day.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Mutual defence – one month on http://www.europeansources.info/record/mutual-defence-one-month-on/

EUObserver, 20.01.16: Weak start for EU mutual defence clause https://euobserver.com/foreign/131918

European Parliament: Newsroom: Press Release, 21.01.16: Next step in mutual defence – European Defence Union, say MEPs http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20160114IPR09904/

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