European security requires its own nuclear deterrent — so as not to depend on the U.S. “umbrella” or trigger a national arms race across member states. This is achievable through coordination with the United Kingdom and France. The next step is to respond to President Macron’s initiative: joint financing of France’s nuclear capability, a single EU doctrine for nuclear governance, and movement toward a pan-European deterrent under democratic parliamentary control after treaty reform.
This was stated in a comment to Guildhall by Dutch MEP and member of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence Reinier van Lanschot.
The MEP outlined three scenarios for Europe’s security future:
Europe takes no action and remains dependent on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which Washington can withdraw at will;
European countries begin acquiring their own nuclear arsenals as a “hedge” (e.g., Poland, Germany, the Nordic states collectively);
A “European deterrent” is created by coordinating the nuclear strategies of the UK and France (which was largely done in the Northwood Declaration of September 2025). The latter is the best option, as Europe should not be exposed to nuclear blackmail by the United States/Russia or to further nuclear proliferation.
“But we need to take the next step: Europeans should respond to President Macron’s proposal for a ‘strategic dialogue’ on nuclear weapons. We need to co-finance the French nuclear force, establish a clear joint EU doctrine for nuclear governance, and ultimately work toward a European nuclear deterrent under the control of a fully democratic European parliamentary system (after treaty reform),” the politician added.
Earlier, in a comment to Guildhall, Czech MEP Ondřej Kolář said that trust in the nuclear non-proliferation regime — undermined by the breach of the Budapest Memorandum — must be restored. He added that an open dialogue among major international stakeholders, and above all an end to the war in Ukraine with reliable security guarantees for all parties, would significantly help rebuild that trust.
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