European nuclear deterrence debate heats up as Belgian defense minister rebukes German chancellor’s talkative approach.
European Nuclear Deterrence Debate Revived
The discussion on European nuclear deterrence has revived. As Politico notes, this comes before Emmanuel Macron’s planned March 2 speech, in which he will present perspectives on including “key European countries” in nuclear deterrence discussions.
Germany’s Position on Nuclear Arms
On Wednesday (February 18), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in the Machtwechsel podcast, opposed ideas for Germany’s independent nuclear armament, but declared that he would consider the possibility of creating a European nuclear deterrence system in cooperation with France.
Recall that during the Munich Security Conference, Friedrich Merz admitted that he had already conducted preliminary, confidential talks with Emmanuel Macron about Germany joining the French nuclear deterrence program.
Belgian Defense Minister’s Criticism
Belgium’s Defense Minister Theo Francken shared the link to Merz’s conversation on platform X. “When it comes to nuclear deterrence, I really don’t understand why European leaders are so talkative. It’s unreasonable. Please, keep your tongue behind your teeth” – he wrote.
Future Combat Aircraft System Controversy
Francken also drew attention to Merz’s statement about the Future Combat Aircraft System (FCAS) program, which aims to develop a next-generation fighter jet. The German politician suggested that the joint project of Germany, Spain, and France has turned out to be a failure.
“Belgium was an observer in the program. We will revise our position” – summarized Belgium’s defense minister.
Stalled Defense Project Raises Concerns
The goal of the Future Combat Aircraft System is to replace French Rafale fighter jets and Eurofighter aircraft used by Germany and Spain by 2040. In 2025, the project stalled when French Dassault Aviation conflicted with Airbus, representing the interests of Germany and Spain.
An additional problem were French-German misunderstandings – Germany criticizes France for insufficient efforts to increase defense spending. Merz noted that “in specific categories, the French need a plane capable of carrying nuclear weapons and adapted for aircraft carrier operations. Currently, we don’t need this in the German Bundeswehr.”
