European Union leaders are preparing contingency plans for military self-defense, moving ahead with detailed blueprints on how to activate their mutual assistance clause in case of foreign attack. The shift comes as President Trump continues to openly question America's commitment to the 77-year-old alliance, pushing Nato toward what officials describe as its worst crisis in history.
Cyprus, which is hosting the EU talks, confirmed Friday that the European Commission will draft a handbook outlining how the bloc would respond if Article 42.7 of the EU treaty is invoked. This mutual defense provision has rarely been tested, but EU leaders pointed to a recent drone strike on a British military base in Cyprus as a model for how European nations can mobilize to defend one another without American assistance.
When that incident occurred, Greece, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands quickly deployed military equipment and forces to support Cyprus. European Council President António Costa described the coordinated response as a proof of concept. "We are designing the handbook on how to use this mutual assistance clause," Costa said Friday.
The move reflects growing alarm in Brussels over Trump's repeated threats to withdraw the US from Nato. Earlier this month, Trump said he was "absolutely without question" considering abandoning the alliance entirely. Those comments triggered immediate questions about whether Washington would defend European allies in a genuine attack, raising the prospect that European nations might face aggression without US backing.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been the most vocal European critic of Trump's positions on the Middle East conflict, reiterated Friday that Spain remains a loyal Nato member while criticizing the region's military interventions. Reports also surfaced Friday that the US has been exploring how to suspend Spain from Nato, though details remained sparse.
Trump, meanwhile, is pursuing diplomatic channels on a different front. The White House confirmed Friday that the president is sending Middle East envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to resume negotiations aimed at ending the nearly eight-week war with Iran. The envoys are scheduled to meet Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Islamabad.
On the domestic front, an appeals court blocked Trump's executive order suspending asylum access on Friday, dealing a setback to one of his signature immigration policies. The ruling prevents the administration from implementing what had been intended as a cornerstone of the president's border crackdown following his return to the White House.
The Justice Department also announced plans Friday to strengthen the federal death penalty, including bringing back firing squads and readopting lethal injection protocols from Trump's first term. In a separate move, the DOJ has dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, clearing the way for Trump's nominee to the position to advance toward confirmation.
The administration issued an executive order earlier this month to accelerate access to psychedelic medications for patients with serious mental illnesses, though analysts say the directive is largely symbolic and unlikely to have significant legal force. In other Trump administration actions, the DOJ intervened Friday in a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's xAI against Colorado's artificial intelligence regulation law.
Trump shared a social media post this week describing India as a "hellhole," prompting sharp criticism from New Delhi. The Indian government called the comments inappropriate and said they were in poor taste. Trump's post contained remarks from conservative podcast host Michael Savage that also attacked the constitutional right to birthright citizenship.
Author James Rodriguez: "Europe's pivot toward self-reliance is telling, but building a credible defense architecture takes years, not weeks, and Trump knows it."
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