Germany’s chancellor-to-be, Friedrich Merz, has said he will reach out to France and Britain to discuss the sharing of nuclear weapons, but cautioned that such a move could not be a replacement for the US’s existing protective shield over Europe.
“The sharing of nuclear weapons is an issue we need to talk about,” Merz said in a wide-ranging interview on Sunday with the broadcaster Deutschlandfunk (DLF). “We have to be stronger together in nuclear deterrence.”
Merz, an erstwhile passionate transatlanticist who has spoken out in recent weeks on Donald Trump and Europe’s need to be “independent”, said he hoped the US nuclear shield would remain in place, and that a European shield should be viewed as a “complement” to it.
“We should talk with both countries [France and Britain] always, and in addition, from the perspective of supplementing the American nuclear shield, which we of course want to see maintained,” he said.
In a guarded reference to Trump, Merz said: “The changed global security situation now necessitates that we Europeans discuss this matter together.”
Owing to its second world war past as the aggressor, Germany has committed itself to non-nuclear defence in international treaties, according to which it is banned from acquiring nuclear weapons, at the same time as cooperating in Nato weapons-sharing agreements.
Merz’s comments came after the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced on Wednesday he was open to a discussion on widening France’s nuclear deterrent programme to other European nations.
At an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Thursday, EU leaders agreed on plans to boost spending on defence over the need to build an alternative model to military support from Washington and amid concerns that Russia, encouraged by its war on Ukraine and encouraging signs from the White House, could set its future sights on attacking an EU state.
Merz, the leader of the conservatives in Germany, has put his political reputation on the line by reneging on a pre-election promise to keep the country’s rigid debt rules intact, announcing proposals last week for a massive rise in spending for defence and infrastructure.
His plans, which involve altering the constitution, will come before the German parliament on Thursday. Merz is hoping for the backing of the Social Democrats and the Greens, with whom the necessary two-thirds parliamentary majority is still possible in the existing parliament, which remains in place until 25 March.
However, Merz acknowledged on Sunday he still had work to do in order to win over the Greens to his plans, whose support is needed if a two-thirds majority is to be reached. The Greens have signalled their strong objection to the fact that hardly any reference has been made to climate protection in Merz’s proposals.
Merz said in the Deutschlandfunk interview that “intensive” talks would take place with the Green party next week. “We will integrate climate protection measures [in the investment proposals],” he said.
Merz’s CDU/CSU came first in a federal election last month and is seeking to form a “mini-grand” coalition with the Social Democrats. The two parties announced on Saturday they had completed a round of “sounding talks” to establish whether there was sufficient common ground between them before the start of formal negotiations. Official talks could begin in the coming week.
Major sticking points are expected to be migration and security, with Merz having ridden on a pre-election ticket of considerably toughening up on rules over who can enter Germany and under what circumstances they could stay.
The new government is under huge pressure to take the wind out of the sails of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, which soared to second place in the election, with almost 21%, promising among other policies a mass “remigration” of criminal foreigners and migrants with no legal right to stay in Germany, should it come to power.
Addressing concerns that his plans to tighten migration regulations would put Germany at odds with its neighbours, Merz said he intended to be fully compliant with EU rules and would seek pan-European consensus. “We want European solidarity … but Germany also of course has a right to defend its own security and order,” he said.
Merz has said he has hopes of forming a coalition by Easter, on 20 April.
