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The UK and France for the first time have pledged to coordinate the use of their nuclear weapons, saying they will jointly respond to protecting Europe from any “extreme threat”.
Prime Minister Cyrus Starmer and Emmanuel Macron’s announcement, during a state visit to the French president in the UK, marks a significant step forward in co -operation between the two nuclear forces in Europe, as they want to respond to a growing threat from Russia.
It also comes when President Donald Trump doubts the United States’ commitment to collective defense of the continent, causing interest to some European countries, including Germany, for London and Paris to expand their nuclear umbrella.
The UK government said on Wednesday that the agreement with France means “for the first time that appropriate preventing both countries are independent but can be coordinated”.
“There is no extreme threat to Europe that would not encourage the two peoples,” the UK added. “As such, any opponent threatening the vital interests of the UK or France may face the power of the nuclear forces of both nations.”
A Palace official at Elysee said reinforcement “is a message to our allies and our opponents” because it brought “solidarity between two nuclear forces”.
While the UK is a member of NATO’s nuclear planning group and obliges its arsenal to defend the security alliance, France has long fiercely protected its independent, sovereign decision -making of nuclear weapons.
Paris does not participate in the NATO nuclear -sharing deal that has put their weapons in Europe and allows several European countries to carry them on fighter jets.
Current nuclear prevention of the UK consists of submarines launched rockets, which are acquired by the United States, but can be operated independently.
London recently announced plans to add an air launch option for the first time in decades, with plans to buy US F-35A fighters that could deliver US nuclear weapons.
France’s nuclear prevention is completely domestic and consists of a submarine and launched weapons.
In a speech to parliament in the UK on Tuesday, Macron said Britain and France have “special responsibility” for Europe’s security.
“Europe is expected to expect in Europe, facing revisionist neighbors, our two countries have a special responsibility for the continent’s security,” he said. “And it’s time to articulate it.”
Macron has been maintaining a nuclear doctrine set by France for decades that its “vital interests” – the factors that determine the use of nuclear weapons – have a “European dimension”.
But Paris has never defined the term to keep the president’s options open and guess the key to all nuclear deterrations.
The UK and France have a precedent to signal an extended deterrence. In 1995
Camil Grand, a former senior NATO official, who is now in the European Foreign Relations Team Council, said the announcement is a “significant change” in the nuclear doctrines of both allies and the one that could lead to closer operational coordination, such as submarine patrols.
“It is a very powerful statement about Franco-British commitment to European security,” he said. “This is also important because the UK and France have relatively small nuclear arsenals, which makes coordination desirable.”
Lawrence Friedman, a professor of military studies at King College Emiritus in London, said: “As far as I know, the French have never publicly admitted that they are coordinating nuclear skills with someone else, so in itself is a very important development.”
Potential cooperation may include coordinating the refits of nuclear submarines in such a way that there is as much at sea at any time, he added.
In addition to the announcements of nuclear weapons, Britain and France were to sign the Lancaster House 2.0 Declaration, updating the wide -line defense pact in 2010.
Includes plans to build a new generation of long-range missiles to eventually replace the shadow/scalp of the storm that has proven to be very effective in Ukraine’s hands and to expand a common Franco-British expeditious force.
The UK has said the two countries will also jointly develop air-to-air rockets from the next generation, high-tech microwave weapons and drone and rockets and use of artificial intelligence to improve synchronized strike opportunities.
Additional notice from Charles Clover in London
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