PARIS — Finland is joining France's plans to cooperate more closely with other European countries on nuclear deterrence, the two countries announced Monday. "Today, we took a new step forward as Finland joined the French forward deterrence initiative. The initiative is first and foremost about strengthening European security," Finnish President Alexander Stubb posted on X.
"It reinforces Europe’s responsibility for its own defence and helps prevent escalation." The Nordic country's decision is the latest example of Europeans rethinking their defense posture amid Russia’s escalating hybrid attacks across the continent and doubts about the reliability of U.S. security guarantees. Finland joined NATO in 2023 after decades of neutrality, and its embrace of closer European defense cooperation reflects how Russia’s war against Ukraine has reshaped Europe's security architecture. On March 2, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Germany, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden had agreed to deepen nuclear cooperation with Paris.
That could include joint nuclear drills, information sharing and, ultimately, the temporary deployment of French nuclear-capable Rafale fighter jets in allied countries — a concept Macron called "forward nuclear deterrence." Norway has since joined the initiative. "The French initiative does not replace or overlap with NATO’s nuclear deterrence. Finland’s foremost priority is to act as part of NATO and the European Union," Stubb said.
"Finland does not intend to station nuclear weapons on its territory in peacetime." The two countries will in the coming months set up a so-called nuclear steering group to discuss implementation.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
