Helsinki is the 10th European capital to join the French initiative
Finland is joining France’s “forward deterrence” initiative, Paris said on Monday, deepening defence cooperation between the two countries as European governments seek to bolster security against Russia.
The move makes Finland the tenth European country to participate in the French initiative, which President Emmanuel Macron unveiled in March as a way of extending the strategic reach of France’s independent nuclear deterrent across Europe.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a post on X that the initiative was “first and foremost about strengthening European security”, adding that it would reinforce Europe’s responsibility for its own defence and help prevent escalation.
But Stubb stressed that the French initiative would not replace or duplicate NATO’s nuclear deterrence.
