Norway has agreed to join France's plans to extend its nuclear deterrent to European allies, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday after talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Paris.
Macron said Norway had agreed to join what France describes as its "forward nuclear deterrence."
He said Norway was an important geographical and strategic partner with which France had already worked closely to protect NATO territory from external threats.
The Scandinavian country would bring "significant added value" to the initiative, Macron said.
The two countries also agreed on a defence pact containing a mutual assistance clause in the event of an attack.
Macron said the move came amid growing awareness that Europe needed to take greater responsibility for its own security.
Response to Russian threat
Støre welcomed Macron's initiative to extend France's nuclear deterrent to Europe, particularly in light of the threat posed by Russia.
At the same time, he stressed that deterrence would essentially continue to be guaranteed by NATO and that the United States had assured allies it would continue to provide nuclear protection for Europe.
Macron announced in early March that France would expand its nuclear deterrent and extend it to European allies, also in light of uncertainty surrounding the United States as a security partner.
Eight countries initially responded positively to the French offer. In addition to Norway, they included Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark.
France had already agreed closer coordination with the United Kingdom on nuclear defence.
French nuclear drills with partners
Macron explained in March that extending France's nuclear umbrella could include allowing partners to take part in French nuclear exercises. Strategic elements could also be temporarily deployed to allied countries.
Since the UK's departure from the European Union in 2020, France has been the bloc's only remaining nuclear power.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, France possesses 290 of the world's roughly 12,200 nuclear weapons, making it the fourth-largest nuclear power after Russia, the US and China.
