Finland to join French initiative on European nuke deterrence

Finland has decided to join France’s nuclear deterrence initiative, which is significant for security in Europe, said the Ministry of Defence in a press release on Monday.

The initiative is a form of bilateral cooperation between Finland and France. Finland has been discussing the initiative confidentially with France both at the highest political level and at the level of officials.

In March 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron launched an initiative on the European dimension of France’s nuclear deterrence.

Eight countries were then announced having joined the initiative, followed by Norway at a later stage.

Finland has been discussing joining the initiative with France. The two countries have now concluded their talks and have issued a joint statement on Finland joining the nuclear deterrence initiative.

“The French initiative will strengthen Europe’s increasingly active approach to defence. Its objective is to reinforce security and deterrence across Europe,” said Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen in the press release.

The Minister termed the step as natural as Norway, Sweden and Denmark have already joined the initiative.”

The French initiative does not replace or overlap with NATO’s nuclear deterrence. NATO’s nuclear deterrence is based on nuclear-sharing arrangements and relies on the United States’ extended deterrent. It is ultimately the supreme guarantee of the security of the Alliance.

NATO’s nuclear deterrence has been enhanced with renewed determination in recent years. Finland contributes to that work. France’s sovereign nuclear deterrence promotes the overall security of the Alliance and Europe.

“Each country joining the French initiative will define itself its pace of engagement. The French initiative is different from NATO’s nuclear deterrence. The joining countries will not have obligations like NATO's collective defence. Moreover, France is not asking the other countries to contribute to the costs of maintaining the nuclear deterrence,” Minister Häkkänen said.

As a first step after the signing of the joint statement, officials will discuss how the cooperation will be initiated.

Next, the Finnish defence administration will start preparing for negotiations with France on how the cooperation will proceed in concrete terms.