Nuke-talk is heating up among Europeans in Munich – POLITICO

Estonia isn’t ruling out joining early-stage talks on a common nuclear deterrent in Europe, Deputy Defense Minister Tuuli Duneton said in an interview. “We are always open to discuss” with partners, she said, while emphasizing the U.S. was still “committed to providing nuclear deterrence for allied nations.”

Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Siliņa echoed that. “Nuclear deterrence can give us new opportunities. Why not?” she said, while cautioning that any steps would have to be in compliance with “our international commitments.”

Trump has questioned NATO’s common defense Article 5 provision, ridiculed allied contributions to the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and repeatedly called for annexing Greenland, part of NATO-member Denmark. That’s leading Europe to hunt for what officials call another layer of “insurance” against Moscow.

In practice, that means turning to France and the U.K. — Europe’s only nuclear powers. Unlike London, Paris is not part of NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group, which discusses the use of nuclear force through the alliance. French presidents have underlined that France’s national interests have a European dimension, while stressing that any launch decision rests purely with Paris.

Both German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron addressed a European nuclear deterrent in their Munich speeches.

“Nuclear deterrence is a prominent subject” at this year’s conference, Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said. Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken also attended a closed-door discussion on the topic.