Finland has agreed to join France’s Forward Deterrence Initiative, extending the coverage of the French nuclear deterrent to eleven European countries.
The announcement came as part of a new strategic partnership between Finland and France, formalised by the countries’ foreign ministers in Helsinki on Monday. Finland becomes the 10th European country to join the French initiative, which comes as Russia is viewed as a growing threat and increasing concern over the commitment of the United States to help protect the continent.
“Finland has decided to join forward deterrence,” according to their joint statement.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social media that the initiative is “first and foremost about strengthening European security”.
A nuclear steering group will be set up in the coming months to begin implementing the cooperation, the two European Union states announced.
Stubb was careful to state that the initiative does not replace NATO’s nuclear deterrence, insisting that the move had been discussed extensively with the US and the military alliance.
However, Finland joins Britain, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark and Norway in signing up for cooperation with France’s nuclear umbrella, as President Donald Trump’s shake-up of NATO has Europe – and especially those states closer to Russia in the east – reassessing their security arrangements.
Estonia is also in discussion with France with an eye on joining the enhanced nuclear deterrence, Prime Minister Kristen Michal told the AFP news agency.
“We are under NATO’s nuclear umbrella already. And France is also backing up our independence with the troops in Estonia. So if the cooperation can be deeper in the nuclear field, that probably will go so,” he said.
Under the initiative, the French president alone has the authority to decide when nuclear weapons are used, in contrast to NATO, which has a shared Nuclear Planning Group.
However, it offers joint exercises, the potential short-term deployment of nuclear-capable assets on allied territory and deeper consultation.
Finland does not intend to allow nuclear weapons to be stationed on its territory in peacetime, Stubb noted.
Finland is among a number of European countries that warn of the growing threat from Russia.
Finnish authorities seized a vessel in December suspected of intentionally severing undersea telecommunications cables amid fears of Russian sabotage in the Gulf of Finland.
The Fitburg was en route from the Russian port of St Petersburg to Israel at the time of the incident, according to Finnish officials.