Netherlands and France hold first talks in Paris on joint nuclear deterrence
The Dutch Ministry of Defence says officials held a first meeting in Paris on Wednesday, and that the aim is to add to NATO, not replace it.
The Netherlands and France have started talks on joint nuclear deterrence. The first meeting took place in Paris on Wednesday, according to the Dutch Ministry of Defence (Defensie).
The ministry said the planned cooperation is not meant to replace NATO but to add to it and make Europe safer.
The ministry said that during the meeting, "options were discussed for further strengthening the European dimension of nuclear and conventional deterrence."
In March, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he wants to share France's nuclear umbrella with a number of other European NATO countries.
NATO (Noord-Atlantische Verdragsorganisatie)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance of European countries together with partners such as the United States and Canada. Its members commit to collective defence, meaning an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. For the Netherlands it is the main framework for its defence and security cooperation.
nuclear umbrella
A nuclear umbrella is the protection a nuclear-armed country extends to its allies, so that a threat to them is deterred by that country's nuclear weapons. In this context it refers to France offering its nuclear deterrent to other European countries as part of their security. The idea is that an attack on those countries could be met with French nuclear capability.