The Brief
6 March 2025

It’s time for Europe to go nuclear

By Matthew Karnitschnig

The willingness of European leaders to ignore Donald Trump’s mendacity and humiliate themselves with displays of fealty to the American president on live television can be explained in two words: nuclear umbrella.

The implosion of the transatlantic relationship over the past two weeks has policy makers across Europe wondering if they can still count on the nuclear shield, which has served as the foundation of their security for decades.

As they say in America, ‘If you have to ask, you already know the answer’.

That’s particularly true for the Baltic countries, which are rightly concerned that Trump would not be willing to enter into a nuclear confrontation with Russia over a region smaller than Oklahoma.

Given the threat Russia poses with its stockpile of nearly 6,000 warheads, Europe has no choice to but to invest in expanding the continent’s nuclear capabilities. At the moment, only the UK and France have nuclear weapons. But their total arsenal – 550 warheads – is dwarfed by Russia’s and cannot replace the roughly 5,200 in America’s stocks.

French President Emmanuel Macron signalled this week that Paris might be willing to extend its nuclear deterrent to the rest of Europe. Even if that happens, it won’t be enough.

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The Roundup

EU summit – EU leaders are preparing to sacrifice full unity to secure staunch support for Ukraine, as a new pragmatic consensus forms to sideline Hungary at the bloc's most consequential summit in years. To catch up on how it happened, check out our liveblog.

Economy –The European Commission will call for “efficient and harmonised” supervision of capital markets in its forthcoming communication on capital markets integration, according to a draft document seen by Euractiv.

Transport – European battery makers and recyclers see a brighter future after the EU automotive action plan released on Wednesday sent important signals to the sector, and placed the EU battery industry at the centre of its transport decarbonisation and industrial strategies.

Food and drink – A slate of terms to describe low-alcohol and no-alcohol wines is set to be unveiled by the European Commission in a bid to support the growing market segment, according to a draft regulation seen by Euractiv.

Across Europe

Norway – Norwegian government and intelligence officials fear for the future of its close intelligence partnership with the US, as they worry the Trump administration might be listening more to Putin than their allies, intelligence sources told Dagens Næringsliv (DN).

France – In a rallying call to the French nation and Europe as a whole, President Emmanuel Macron addressed the urgent need to defend "democracy and a certain idea of truth," as the US threatens to move away from Europe, and halt support to Ukraine.

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