Austria announced the possible activation by the European Union of an article on collective assistance over Greenland

Austrian Chancellor Stocker: EU may activate collective aid clause over Greenland

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said that the escalation of the situation around Greenland could force the European Union (EU) to activate the provisions of the collective assistance clause of the Treaty on European Union, but the association hopes that it will not come to that.

The Austrian Chancellor made a corresponding statement at a joint press conference with the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, his words are quoted by TASS.

As Stocker noted, the situation around Greenland could lead to conflict, but he hopes that this can be avoided. He drew attention to the fact that there is a legal framework that he and Roberta Metsola discussed, in particular, paragraph 7 of Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union, which in such cases regulates the support provided by EU countries to each other.

At the same time, the Austrian Chancellor clarified that European legislation provides for a clause according to which neutral states of the community, which include Austria, have the right to independently decide on specific support measures.

Stocker stressed the inadmissibility of any threats against Greenland, since it is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

“Sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected by everyone without exception,” the chancellor added.