Denmark's government has accepted France's invitation to collaborate on nuclear deterrence, while Sweden joins a deepened dialogue. President Emmanuel Macron announced the expansion of France's nuclear arsenal and invited several European countries to exercises. The cooperation is seen as complementary to NATO, without changing Denmark's policy against nuclear weapons on Danish soil.
President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech on Monday from a naval base in Brittany, describing a geopolitical period of upheaval with rising risks from nuclear-armed states, including conflicts in Ukraine, between India and Pakistan, and in the Middle East. He announced that France is expanding the number of warheads in its arsenal and will no longer disclose figures. France has about 300 nuclear weapons, compared to over 5,000 each for Russia and the US.
Macron invited eight European countries – the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden – to collaborate in strengthening Europe's deterrence capability. Denmark confirmed in the evening via a press conference with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen that the country accepts the invitation. The cooperation may include exercises with French nuclear forces, but Denmark's principle against placing nuclear weapons on Danish soil in peacetime remains.
"The Danish nuclear policy will not change," said Frederiksen. Løkke Rasmussen emphasized: "Europe must shoulder a greater burden," and that the cooperation complements NATO. Defense analyst Jakob Beim calls it a paradigm shift for Danish security policy, despite imprecise wording.
Sweden will participate in a deepened dialogue. "The talks will address how France's national nuclear weapons could contribute to a clearer common European deterrence," said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. In the longer term, French nuclear weapons, likely via Rafale aircraft, could be stationed in other countries, but France's president retains sole decision-making authority. Germany has already formed a high-level group to coordinate with France, with exercises planned later this year. Macron's initiative has been pursued since 2020, accelerated by Trump's threat to Denmark over Greenland last year, but critics like Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon question it ahead of the next presidential election.
