Romania rejects nuclear weapons on its territory

Romania does not plan to host nuclear components on its territory in the medium term. President Nicușor Dan said this on Thursday evening in response to France’s proposals to expand European nuclear deterrence and co-operate more closely with partners across Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that France would expand its nuclear arsenal and consider allowing European allies to host French aircraft carrying out nuclear deterrence missions.

France and Germany have already set up a joint steering group on nuclear deterrence and plan to begin concrete co-operation later this year. According to Macron, Greece, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden could also take part in French nuclear military exercises. Romania confirmed this week that it had received an invitation to the talks.

However, Dan stressed that, as a NATO member, Romania is protected by the US nuclear umbrella. ‘This protection does not mean the presence of nuclear elements on Romanian territory, and we are not considering their deployment in the medium term,’ he said after his visit to Warsaw.

The Paris initiative comes amid growing geopolitical tensions and criticism from Washington that Europe is not doing enough to defend itself.

(reuters, lud)