Cos'è l'articolo 42.7 del Trattato di Lisbona e come funziona

Per la prima volta uno stato membro dell'Unione Europea ha invocato l'articolo 42.7 del Trattato di Lisbona, la clausola di difesa collettiva.
Il Guardian spiega cosa comporta la decisione presa dal governo francese dopo gli attentati a Parigi e il conseguente aiuto militare che la Francia otterrà da i 27 paesi europei.

As a result of the train attacks in Spain in 2004, the EU inserted mutual defence measures into the Lisbon treaty similar to the Nato alliance's article five, which obliges all member countries to come to the defence of one of their number if attacked.

As the EU does not have an army, the French will now conduct a set of bilateral negotiations with other EU states on what kind of military help might be available.

Article 42.7 stipulates that "if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with article 51 of the United Nations charter".