US deterrence is enough
Stoltenberg sees no need for EU nuclear weapons
February 14, 2024, 3:16 p.m
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SPD European leader Barley is starting a debate about whether the EU needs its own nuclear weapons to compensate for a US failure if Trump wins the election. NATO chief Stoltenberg, on the other hand, advocates strengthening the credibility of the existing deterrence regime.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has spoken out against an additional system of nuclear deterrence in Europe. “We have NATO’s nuclear deterrent and this has offered NATO allies the ultimate security guarantees for decades,” said the Norwegian on the sidelines of discussions with the defense ministers of the alliance members in Brussels. It is important to ensure that the functioning system remains safe and reliable. Its credibility should not be undermined.
The core of nuclear deterrence should therefore remain the US nuclear weapons stationed in Europe, in whose use countries like Germany could also be involved via the concept of “nuclear sharing”. According to Stoltenberg, another component of nuclear deterrence are the nuclear weapons that the European NATO states Great Britain and France have at their disposal.
The background to new discussions about a possible additional system of nuclear deterrence in Europe is the possible re-election of Donald Trump in the US presidential elections in November. The Republican made it clear at a campaign appearance at the weekend that he would not grant American support to allies with low defense spending in the event of a Russian attack.
Among others, the SPD’s top candidate for the European elections, Katarina Barley, then questioned the reliability of the US nuclear weapons protective shield. On the question of whether the EU needs its own nuclear bombs, she told the “Tagesspiegel”: “On the way to a European army, that can also become an issue.”
Hebestreit: Talks with Paris and London “are not needed”
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner spoke out in favor of more cooperation with France and Great Britain on nuclear deterrence. “French President Emmanuel Macron has presented various offers of cooperation,” wrote the FDP chairman in a guest article for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. “We should see Donald Trump’s recent statements as a call to further rethink this element of European security under the umbrella of NATO.”
Speaker Steffen Hebestreit took a stand in the debate on behalf of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He made it clear that he saw no need for talks to include French and British nuclear weapons in the nuclear deterrent. In addition to US nuclear weapons, these are already “part of NATO’s deterrent potential.” In this respect, these discussions are “not necessary in that sense”.
With regard to Trump, Hebestreit said that he “would also warn against overestimating statements made by men and women who are in the election campaign and also vying for attention.” Germany believes in NATO’s guarantee of support. Trump’s statements had “no influence on acute NATO actions.” However, this does not remove the task of “constantly checking whether we are set up correctly,” the government spokesman continued. Such decisions would be discussed and then communicated “when they are ready.”
The federal government has once again made it clear in its national security strategy that it continues to rely on nuclear deterrence and nuclear participation, emphasized Hebestreit, also with a view to the transport of US atomic bombs by German fighter jets in the event of a crisis. These are “discussions that we are now having confidentially and secretly within NATO about any further developments.”