appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agence France-Presse

Finland has decided to join France’s forward nuclear deterrence initiative, extending the measure to a country sharing a long border with Russia, the two countries said in a joint statement on Monday.
France is extending its nuclear deterrent to European allies as the continent reassesses its security in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s shake-up of Nato.
“Finland has decided to join forward deterrence,” the two countries said.
“A nuclear steering group will be set up in the coming months to begin implementing this cooperation.”
Finland is the 10th European country to agree to join the plan to access France’s nuclear stockpile to bolster security on the continent.
Eight countries were initially on board: Britain, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Denmark. Norway then joined in May.


Monday’s announcement came as part of a new strategic partnership between Finland and France, due to be signed by the countries’ foreign ministers later in the day in Helsinki.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb confirmed the decision on social media, saying it was “first and foremost about strengthening European security”.
He stressed that the French nuclear deterrent would not “replace or overlap” with Nato’s.
“Finland’s foremost priority is to act as part of Nato and the European Union,” he added.
France’s initiative would extend its nuclear deterrent to other European countries through joint exercises and allow participating countries, for the first time, to temporarily host French nuclear-armed aircraft.
Paris would retain national control over its nuclear arsenal, with the final decision on its use remaining with the French president.
Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment when it joined Nato in 2023, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Its parliament voted in June to lift the country’s blanket ban on nuclear weapons, allowing them to be brought into, transported through, supplied or possessed in Finland when required for the country’s defence.


German intelligence report warns of rising Chinese, Russian spy threat

Finland to join France’s forward nuclear deterrent

Poland and Ukraine denounce train strike on route used by foreign dignitaries

Sweden’s election too close to call as final votes are counted

Nato

France’s President Emmanuel Macron (left) walks with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday. Photo: AFP

France offers nuclear expertise as Philippines weighs energy security options

Vapour rises from cooling towers of a nuclear power plant in Saint-Vulbas, central eastern France, in January 2022. About 70 per cent of France’s power supply comes from nuclear energy. Photo: AFP

Marie Fontanel, the outgoing French ambassador to the Philippines. Photo: Raissa Robles

A logo of French energy giant EDF at the headquarters in Marseille, southern France. Photo: AFP

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Morong town, Bataan province, the Philippines, in May 2018. It was mothballed after its completion in 1984. Photo: Reuters

Sweden buying US-made Himars for long-range strike capability

A Ukrainian Himars crew fires rockets at Russian positions in August. Photo: Associated Press

US Patriot missile shortage in Europe ‘beyond critical’ due to Iran war, officials say

A US Army air defence artilleryman conducts maintenance on an MIM-104 Patriot missile system at an undisclosed location in the Middle East, in an image released in June. Photo: US Army via AFP

Ukrainian servicemen hit a Russian drone during a Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

An Army Tactical Missile System is displayed during the inauguration of a new Rheinmetall plant in Unterluess, Germany, in August 2025. Photo: Reuters

A woman walks across the debris in the aftermath of an overnight Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 20. Photo: AP

Patriot missiles are seen at the Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Poland in March 2022. Photo: AP

Jellyfish force shutdown of 3 reactors at French nuclear power plant

Jellyfish on the shore near the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France. A massive influx of jellyfish into the seawater pumping stations at Gravelines forced EDF to shut down three of its reactors on Monday. Photo: AFP

Jellyfish on the shore near the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France, August 2025. Photo: AFP

News

World

Europe

France’s initiative would extend its nuclear deterrent to other European countries through joint exercises


France’s initiative would extend its nuclear deterrent to other European countries through joint exercises.


Finland to join France’s forward nuclear deterrent

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}France’s initiative would extend its nuclear deterrent to other European countries through joint exercises

France’s initiative would extend its nuclear deterrent to other European countries through joint exercises