The AP Interview: Cyprus president says EU needs a clear playbook on helping members under attack

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides gestures as he speaks during an Associated Press interview ahead of this week's major EU-Middle East summit, at the presidential palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) 2026-04-22T04:05:45Z Nicosia, Cyprus (AP) — European Union leaders meeting in Cyprus need to start preparing a playbook on what should happen if an EU country under attack puts out a call for help from bloc partners, the president of Cyprus said. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, President Nikos Christodoulides said EU leaders will discuss “giving substance” to Article 42.7 of the bloc’s treaties, which oblige all 27 member states to assist each other in times of crisis. The article states that if a nation is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, its partners should provide “aid and assistance by all the means in their power.” It has never been used before so there’s no hard and fast rules on how EU members should respond to any call for assistance. “We have Article 42.7 and we don’t know what is going to happen if a member state triggers this article,” Christodoulides said ahead of an EU-Mideast summit he is also hosting later this week, expected to focus on the Iran war and its fallout. “So we’re going to have a discussion and prepare, let’s say, an operational plan of what is going to happen in case a member state triggers this article, and there are a number of issues.” freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); The issue resonates particularly with Christodoulides, who appealed for help from fellow EU countries last month when a Shahed drone struck a British air base on the island’s southern coastline. Cypriot officials said the drone was launched from Lebanon whose capital is just 207 kilometers (129 miles) away from Cyprus’ southern coast. Greece, France, Spain, The Netherlands and Portugal dispatched ships with anti-drone capabilities to help defend the island. Clarification needed on countries that are also NATO members Christodoulides said since many EU countries are also members of NATO, the playbook should clarify how those countries would respond to a call for help from an EU partner without conflicting with their obligations under the military alliance. NATO’s own security guarantee, Article 5, states an attack on one ally is deemed an attack on them all, requiring a collective response. “So what is going to happen in this situation if a member state is both NATO member state and an EU member state? What is going happen?” Christodoulides said. Another issue that needs to be addressed under the Article 47.2 is whether a response would be a collective one in the NATO mold or just one for states neighboring the country in distress. There’s also the issue of what means would need to be used to deal with varying types of crises. /* Desktop-first: fully collapse by default */ #ap-readmore-embed { display: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; height: 0; min-height: 0; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; position: relative; z-index: 2; } /* Only show on mobile */ @media (max-width: 767px) { #ap-readmore-embed { display: block; margin: 28px 0; height: auto; overflow: visible; } } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-btn { appearance: none; -webkit-appearance: none; border: 0; background: #000; color: #fff; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; gap: 10px; padding: 14px 22px; border-radius: 999px; font-family: inherit, "AP Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 1; box-shadow: 0 10px 18px rgba(0,0,0,0.12); transition: transform 120ms ease, box-shadow 120ms ease, opacity 120ms ease; 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var root = rootCandidates.find(function (c) { return c.contains(stopEl); }) || document.body; var all = root.getElementsByTagName("*"); var hidden = []; for (var i = 0; i Forging closer EU ties to the Mideast Christodoulides said he’s pleased to see that fellow EU leaders now “understand the importance” of bringing the bloc closer to the Middle East with such initiatives as the Mediterranean Pact that implements specific projects on a range of issues including health, education and energy in Middle Eastern countries. Closer EU ties to the Middle East has been a key priority for Cyprus’ EU presidency, which Christodoulides said offers a “very good opportunity ... to give substance” to that objective. Attending the informal EU leaders’ summit later this week will be the leaders of Egypt, Lebanon , Syria and Jordan, affording the opportunity “not just to exchange ideas but to see in action how we elevate our cooperation in a strategic level.” “We can represent the interest of the countries of the Greater Middle East to Brussels, but at the same time, and this is very, very important, the countries in the region, they trust Cyprus to represent them in the European Union,” he said. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Bringing India to Europe Christodoulides is a strong proponent of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a trade, energy and digital connectivity corridor that would link the continent with the world’s largest democracy and is hoped to usher peace and stability in the Middle East. Christodoulides said under the Cypriot EU presidency, a “Friends of IMEC” group has been set up to promote the initiative, which still lacks what he said are more specific projects. One such project is the Great Seas Interconnector, an electricity cable connecting the power grids of Greece and Cyprus and eventually Israel that has been plagued by delays. “We can work together with the Americans, with the U.S. Government, with President Trump in order to give substance because it will be a win-win situation for both the European Union and the United States” with additional concrete projects, Christodoulides said. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy . 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Please try again.' } }; (function (nlConfigNLMW25) { const nlEmailRegexNLMW25 = /^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]{2,}$/; const nlRecaptchaCheckIntervalNLMW25 = 100; const nlRecaptchaMaxAttemptsNLMW25 = 50; function nlIsValidEmailNLMW25(email) { return nlEmailRegexNLMW25.test(String(email || '').trim()); } function nlBuildReferrerUrlNLMW25(utmParams) { try { const url = new URL(window.location.href); Object.entries(utmParams || {}).forEach(([key, value]) => { if (value !== undefined && value !== null && value !== '') { url.searchParams.set(key, value); } }); return url.toString(); } catch (err) { console.warn('Unable to build referrer URL with UTM params:', err); return window.location.href; } } function nlLoadRecaptchaScriptNLMW25(siteKey, callback) { if (typeof window.grecaptcha !== 'undefined') { callback && callback(); return; } const existingScript = document.querySelector('script[src*="recaptcha/api.js"]'); if (existingScript) { const checkInterval = setInterval(() => { if (typeof window.grecaptcha !== 'undefined') { clearInterval(checkInterval); callback && callback(); } }, nlRecaptchaCheckIntervalNLMW25); return; } const script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = `https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?render=${encodeURIComponent(siteKey)}`; script.async = true; script.defer = true; script.onload = () => callback && callback(); script.onerror = () => { console.error('Failed to load reCAPTCHA script'); callback && callback(false); }; document.head.appendChild(script); } function nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(callback, maxAttempts = nlRecaptchaMaxAttemptsNLMW25) { let attempts = 0; const checkRecaptcha = () => { attempts++; if ( typeof window.grecaptcha !== 'undefined' && typeof window.grecaptcha.execute === 'function' ) { callback(true); } else if (attempts token && token.length > 0 ? token : null) .catch(error => { const errorMsg = error?.message || String(error); if ( errorMsg.includes('No reCAPTCHA clients') || errorMsg.includes('not initialized') || errorMsg.includes('Invalid site key') ) { throw new Error('recaptcha_failed'); } throw error; }); } const nlEmbedsNLMW25 = document.querySelectorAll('[data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25]'); nlEmbedsNLMW25.forEach((rootNLMW25, idxNLMW25) => { const formNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-form-nlmw25'); const emailInputNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-input-nlmw25'); const checkboxNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-checkbox-nlmw25'); const errorElNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-error-nlmw25'); const helpElNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-help-nlmw25'); const botFieldNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-bot-field-nlmw25'); const recaptchaDivNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-recaptcha-nlmw25'); let nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; const newsletterListNLMW25 = nlConfigNLMW25.defaultNewsletterList; const recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25 = nlConfigNLMW25.recaptchaSiteKey; const requestReferrerNLMW25 = nlBuildReferrerUrlNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.referrerUtmParams); const emailIdNLMW25 = `nl-email-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; const helpIdNLMW25 = `nl-help-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; const errIdNLMW25 = `nl-error-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; const recaptchaIdNLMW25 = `recaptcha-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; emailInputNLMW25.id = emailIdNLMW25; helpElNLMW25.id = helpIdNLMW25; errorElNLMW25.id = errIdNLMW25; if (recaptchaDivNLMW25) { recaptchaDivNLMW25.id = recaptchaIdNLMW25; if (recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25) { recaptchaDivNLMW25.setAttribute('data-sitekey', recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25); } } emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-describedby', `${helpIdNLMW25} ${errIdNLMW25}`); const nlSetErrorNLMW25 = (msg) => { errorElNLMW25.textContent = msg || ''; errorElNLMW25.style.display = msg ? 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Example: https://.../article/... ?utm_source=embed */ referrer: requestReferrerNLMW25, referrerPolicy: 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' }) .then(response => response.json() .then(data => ({ status: response.status, data })) .catch(() => ({ status: response.status, data: null })) ) .then(result => { nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; const hasVerificationErrorNLMW25 = result.data && ( result.data.message?.includes('Verification Failed') || result.data.error?.includes('Verification Failed') ); if (hasVerificationErrorNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.verificationFailed); return; } if (result.status === 200) { if (typeof window.NLSignup === 'function') { try { window.NLSignup(emailNLMW25); } catch (err) {} } window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('nl:newsletterSignup:nlmw25', { detail: { email: emailNLMW25, source: 'Morning Wire Embed', newsletters: newsletterListNLMW25, referrer: requestReferrerNLMW25 } })); nlSetSubmittedNLMW25(); } else { const errorMsgNLMW25 = result.data?.message || result.data?.error || nlConfigNLMW25.messages.genericError; nlSetErrorNLMW25(errorMsgNLMW25); } }) .catch(error => { nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; console.error('Newsletter subscription error:', error); nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.genericError); }); }; const nlAttemptRecaptchaNLMW25 = () => { if (!recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25) { nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(isAvailable => { if (!isAvailable) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaRequired); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } nlExecuteRecaptchaNLMW25() .then(token => nlSubscribeNLMW25(token)) .catch(() => nlSubscribeNLMW25(null)); }); return; } nlLoadRecaptchaScriptNLMW25(recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25, success => { if (success === false) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaLoadFail); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(isAvailable => { if (!isAvailable) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaRequired); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } const runExecuteNLMW25 = () => { nlExecuteRecaptchaNLMW25() .then(token => nlSubscribeNLMW25(token)) .catch(error => { if (error?.message === 'recaptcha_failed') { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaFailed); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; } else { console.warn('reCAPTCHA error:', error); nlSubscribeNLMW25(null); } }); }; if (typeof window.grecaptcha.ready === 'function') { window.grecaptcha.ready(runExecuteNLMW25); } else { runExecuteNLMW25(); } }); }); }; formNLMW25.addEventListener('submit', e => { e.preventDefault(); if (rootNLMW25.classList.contains('is-submitted-nlmw25') || nlIsSubmittingNLMW25) return; nlHideErrorNLMW25(); nlAttemptRecaptchaNLMW25(); }); emailInputNLMW25.addEventListener('input', () => { nlHideErrorNLMW25(); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'false'); }); checkboxNLMW25.addEventListener('change', nlHideErrorNLMW25); }); })(NL_DEFAULT_CONFIG_NLMW25); On the lookout for new energy sources The Iran war again brought the need for the EU to diversify its energy source into sharp relief. Christodoulides said he’s in talks with the EU’s executive arm on how Cyprus’ own offshore natural gas deposits can help the bloc find alternative energy sources and routes. He said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will unveil on Friday “very specific proposals” regarding energy costs and how the bloc can become more energy independent. The Cypriot president said the EU has made significant strides in hastening its decision on making mechanisms but has failed to deliver on its pledge to add new members in the last two years, diminishing the trust that prospective member nations have in the union. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); “So we have a strong geopolitical tool that we are losing mainly because of our mistakes. The situation today is much better. We are deciding in a much faster, let’s say, pace,” said Christodoulides. “And enlargement is one of the geopolitical tools that, as a European Union, we need pretty soon to have specific decisions.” MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Hadjicostis covers a challenging and ever-evolving region where the interests of Europe and the Middle East, West and East intersect with consequences that reverberate globally. He is based in Cyprus. twitter instagram mailto