Finland has decided to join the nuclear deterrence initiative proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron to European countries, France and Finland announced in a joint statement quoted by Agence France-Presse. This brings the number of countries that have joined the French initiative to ten, the agency noted.
"A steering group on nuclear deterrence will be established in the coming months to begin implementing cooperation in this area," the declaration states.
Although France remains the only European country with nuclear weapons, along with Britain, the initiative also includes other European countries that want to benefit from France's nuclear deterrence. However, they do not have the final say on the use of nuclear weapons, which remains part of the powers of the French president.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb pointed out in a post on the social network Ex that the French initiative aims to "above all, strengthen European security and prevent escalation, without replacing NATO's nuclear deterrence".
"For Finland, the priority framework for action will remain NATO and the European Union," Stubb added, specifying that his country does not intend to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory in peacetime.
The statement by the Finnish and French heads of state comes in a context in which a new strategic partnership is being created between the two countries. It will be signed by the foreign ministers of France and Finland this afternoon in Helsinki.
In a speech delivered at the strategic military base "Ile Long" near the French city of Brest, Emmanuel Macron announced the renewal of France's nuclear deterrence doctrine.
It consists of extending France's nuclear deterrence to its European allies by conducting joint exercises and, potentially, by deploying units of the French nuclear forces beyond national borders, while France will retain control of its nuclear weapons.
Eight countries initially joined the new doctrine. These were the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark. Norway joined them in May.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, has stepped up its defense efforts like many other European countries since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The country ended several decades of military neutrality by joining NATO in April 2023.
In July, the Finnish parliament passed new legislation that lifted the ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons on Finnish territory.