Growing international instability is prompting France and Germany to break a decades-old taboo by opening talks on how France’s nuclear deterrent could underpin Europe’s security.
“France and Germany underline … that France’s independent strategic nuclear forces contribute significantly to the overall security of the alliance,” reads a five-page document outlining the conclusions of Friday’s Franco-German Defense and Security Council in Toulon. “France and Germany will start a strategic dialogue, led by the French Presidency and the German Chancellery.”
France is the EU’s only country with nuclear weapons. Amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictability, President Emmanuel Macron has offered to start talks with European countries to discuss how France’s nuclear deterrent can contribute to the continent’s security.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on the campaign trail he was open to the idea — a major about-face for Germany, as Berlin had repeatedly refused similar offers in past decades.
Under France’s nuclear doctrine, there is a “European dimension” to the country’s so-called vital interests — which the weapons are designed to protect. However, what exactly that European dimension entails, and in which circumstances France might deploy its nuclear capacity beyond its own borders, is left purposefully vague.
Unlike the United Kingdom, France is not a member of NATO’s nuclear planning group.
In Friday’s conclusions, France and Germany also pledged to implement decisions taken at this year’s NATO summit, meaning boosting defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030 and increasing weapons arsenals.
Paris and Berlin announced a new Franco-German initiative to develop a European early-warning system: “Space-based missile early warning system based on ODIN’s EYE project and a network of ground-based radars.” It’s dubbed JEWEL and open to other European countries.
France and Germany also used Friday’s council to push for a stronger EU role in Ukraine — and in Europe’s defense more broadly.
On Ukraine, Berlin and Paris pledged fresh air defense support, promised to buy more arms from Ukrainian factories, and backed Kyiv’s integration into EU defense programs.
The two also called for more joint EU financing of military aid, explicitly linking it to building up Europe’s defense industry. They also backed joint projects with Kyiv under new EU investment schemes like EDIP and SAFE.
They vowed tougher sanctions enforcement — targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” used for oil exports and third-country suppliers of key goods used by the Kremlin’s war machine — and stressed the need for credible long-term security guarantees.
Hans von der Burchard contributed to this report from Toulon.
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