Norway has decided to join the “advanced nuclear deterrent” proposed by France to its European allies, Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday May 27 while receiving Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Paris.
“You have given your agreement for Norway to join what we have called advanced nuclear deterrence”, “this is a very important step in our partnership and it will be the driving force for very ambitious cooperation”, said the French president to the press at the Élysée.
“Norway, a key geographical and strategic partner with which we already had significant cooperation to ensure the protection of allied territory against external threats, will represent strong added value for this advanced deterrence,” he added.
An “advanced deterrent”
At his side, the Norwegian leader recalled that “France is now opening a dialogue with its close allies on how its nuclear weapons can also contribute to European security and deterrence against military threats”. He confirmed that Oslo wanted to be associated with “partners like Poland, the United Kingdom, Germany and Nordic partners”.
In a major speech delivered at the beginning of March on the strategic base of Île Longue, near Brest, Emmanuel Macron updated the French nuclear deterrent doctrine. While France is the only European country equipped with atomic weapons with the United Kingdom, it has defined an “advanced deterrent”, involving other voluntary European states, but “without any sharing of the ultimate decision”.
Eight countries were immediately associated with this new doctrine: the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark. Norway initially said it was ready to discuss it with Paris.
