United Kingdom and France agreed on Thursday (10) for the first time to coordinate the use of nuclear weapons in case of attack, as announced by British Prime Minister Keir Stmermer and French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of a bilateral meeting.
The leaders signed the so -called Northwood statement, which will ensure that, in case of attack, opponents know that there will be a “response from both nations,” Stmerer said.
Macron explained that the decision is a response to a “markedly more threatening environment” and stressed that both countries cannot imagine a scenario in which an aggression against Europe does not cause a joint reaction of the United Kingdom and France.
“This morning we signed the Northwood statement, confirming for the first time we will coordinate our nuclear determination independently. From today, our opponents will know that any extreme threat to this continent would lead to a response from our two nations,” Starmer said at a press conference with Macron.
“It’s really historical. I know there is a lot of attention in the migratory agreement we sign, but the nuclear is equally important because we are the two nuclear nations in Europe,” Stmerer said, and highlighting the size of the pact for Europe and NATO.
Macron pondered Starmer’s words by saying that the decision achieved “does not exclude coordinating nuclear dissuasion,” a message directed at both allied and opponent countries.
“Europe needs to know that it can count on a strategic alliance between France and the United Kingdom,” said the French leader.
The two countries also combined the creation of a joint structure, the nuclear supply group, to coordinate their cooperation in atomic skills and operations.
“Our two countries remain independent and sovereign, but we give ourselves the means, when necessary, to react together to the threatening environment to which we are confronted,” Macron added.
