Finland joins French nuclear umbrella amid European security push

"Finland has decided to join forward deterrence," the two countries said in a joint statement on Monday issued after a meeting in Helsinki.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the decision was "first and foremost about strengthening European security" to "help prevent escalation".

He insisted that the initiative "does not replace or overlap with NATO's nuclear deterrence".

France announced the Forward Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in March after US President Donald Trump raised doubts about the United States' security commitment to Europe and NATO.

Finland is the tenth European country to agree to join.

What could Macron's French nuclear umbrella mean for Europe?

A steering group will be set up in the coming months to begin implementing the cooperation.

Under the programme, which has not been fully defined, France, the EU's only nuclear-armed member, would extend its protection to other countries.

Nuclear-armed Britain, along with Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Denmark joined when the initiative was first announced. Norway joined in May.

The initiative involves joint exercises and and allows participating countries to temporarily host French nuclear-armed aircraft.

Paris would retain national control over its nuclear arsenal, though the final decision on its use remains with the French president.

France to increase nuclear warheads as part of shared plan to protect Europe

With a 1,350-kilometre border with Russia, Finland has been the target of hybrid attacks from Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Finland's parliament voted in June to lift the country's blanket ban on nuclear weapons, allowing them to be brought into or transported through the country when required for the country's defence.

Stubb said Finland does not intend to allow nuclear weapons to be stationed on its territory in peacetime.

Finland's defence minister Antti Hakkanen said in a separate statement that the agreement was a "natural step" following other Nordic countries that already joined. 

(with newswires)