EU Countries Divided Over French Nuclear Deterrence Proposal

BRUSSELS, June 3. /TASS/. EU countries are split over France’s proposal to deploy nuclear weapons outside French territory, according to the Euractiv portal.

Nine European countries have expressed interest in France's proposal to expand its nuclear deterrence, but the benefits this scheme offers beyond what the US nuclear umbrella provides remain unclear, the publication writes. Euractiv notes that the French president’s initiative to deploy its nuclear-capable Rafale aircraft to partner country bases offers no security guarantees. It merely leads to the dispersal of French nuclear forces, reducing the likelihood of their neutralization and increasing strategic uncertainty for an adversary.

The portal reported that Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Poland, the UK (not an EU member), Sweden, and Denmark have expressed interest in France’s "forward deterrence" initiative. The publication also notes that non-EU member Norway has shown preliminary interest in this project, which, in its opinion, could facilitate the involvement of other Nordic countries.

Euractiv emphasized that if all Nordic countries, including Finland, joined the French initiative, it would provide "new corridors" for the French Air Force from which to threaten with the use of nuclear weapons, "especially through the Arctic." At the same time, several southern countries, including Italy, are not ready to join this initiative, and the Baltic states, which continue to rely on the American "nuclear umbrella," have also not supported it.

French nuclear potential is limited in scale and is not comparable to either Russia’s or America’s. French nuclear weapons are launched from aircraft. Therefore, to have the capability to actually use nuclear weapons, France needs forward airbases, staging airfields, or approach corridors to Russian territory.