Should Germany have nuclear weapons?
The debate, totally out of place until recently, is beginning to grow due to the conjunction of several events: the eventuality of Donald Trump returning to the White House after having said that he will not respect the defense obligations of his allies established by the treaty founder of NATO;
the British exit from the European Union that leaves France as the only military power in the bloc;
and military aggressiveness and Russian historical revisionism that returns, as it has done several times in recent centuries, to try to grow towards the west.
Defenders of the idea of Germany acquiring nuclear weapons (which would violate international regulations and lead to a clash whose consequences would be difficult to foresee within the European Union itself and with the “legal” nuclear powers) assure that
The country and Europe will be at the mercy of Russia
if the only nuclear umbrella is the French one.
Former President Donald Trump worried Europe with his statements.
Reuters Photo
One of the promoters of the debate for years is Maximilian Terhalle, who believes that in addition to being necessary,
it is urgent for Berlin to acquire nuclear weapons
because with Trump they will be unprotected.
That commitment to having a solely German nuclear weapon is still a minority.
What is already supported by most of the political forces is what they call the “European option.”
It is not about the European Union as such being equipped with nuclear weapons, but about “Europeanizing” the force de frappe, French nuclear weapons, so that they could be the security umbrella of the old continent.
It's possible?
Macron encourages that idea.
The French president said years ago that he would want French nuclear weapons to be a guarantee of security for Europe.
In exchange, he asked other countries
to take care of part of the cost of maintenance, development and production.
They would pay all 27 but, of course, Paris would have the final say as to how, when and against whom atomic weaponry could be used.
If the Germans said years ago that they were not interested in that deal, now they do not seem completely closed.
The debate is also about quantities.
Between France and the United Kingdom there are about 550 atomic bombs, approximately half each country
.
Russia has, like the United States, about 6,000.
A French nuclear force of fewer than 300 nuclear weapons against Russia is a deterrent.
The solution would be another German idea: buying.
It would involve
Berlin acquiring about 1,000 nuclear bombs of the approximately 6,000 that Washington has
and, in exchange for the approval of its European partners, Berlin would have to put them at the service of the security of the entire continent.
To have nuclear weapons, Germany would first have to abandon the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The German Defense Minister refuses to enter the debate.
Boris Pistorius assures that he has had to come out to deny the interest of the German Executive, which
is “the last thing” the country needs.
Pistorius said months ago that his Armed Forces have until the end of this decade to prepare for what he hopes will be a Russian attack on countries that, by EU and NATO treaties, Germany would be obliged to protect.
Other countries, such as Estonia, believe that the Russian attack will come sooner, in 2025 or 2026.
P.B.