In July 2022, five months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Wolfgang Schaüble, a leading figure in Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), put forward a bold idea: France, Germany and Poland, he explained in an interview with the newspaper Welt am Sonntag, should together take the initiative for a stronger European defense policy, one element of which would be a "nuclear deterrent at European level." Since France had such a deterrent, it was "in the interests of the Germans" to contribute financially to this force "in exchange for a common nuclear deterrent."
The proposal aroused neither indignation on the other side of the Rhine River, nor enthusiasm on this side. Despite Vladimir Putin's tendency to brandish the nuclear threat to frighten Ukraine's allies, neither Berlin nor Warsaw thought they needed the French nuclear umbrella at the time. The US, their number one ally, had a far more impressive one to deploy over Europe.
Thirty months later, Schaüble, who died at the end of 2023, is no longer around to witness the sudden geopolitical turnaround that would no doubt have deeply shocked him, a fervent Atlanticist, but which makes his proposal perfectly timely. So much so that the likely future German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, a great admirer of Schaüble, has just put it back on the table. Since Donald Trump's America is turning away from Europe and seems to be aligning with Russia's positions, we must "discuss with the British and the French whether their nuclear protection could also be extended" to Germany, the Christian Democrat leader said as early as February 21, two days before winning the elections. Merz reiterated this position on March 9 on Deutschlandfunk radio: "We simply have to become stronger together when it comes to nuclear deterrence in Europe."
'Historic call'
Meanwhile, Schaüble's third partner, Poland, has also put its foot down. Addressing the Sejm on March 7, during a formal debate on the country's security, Prime Minister Donald Tusk recommended that Warsaw "equip itself with the most modern nuclear and non-conventional weapons capabilities." Poland, he added, is engaged in "serious discussions" with France on this subject.
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