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Is the EU going to arm itself with nuclear weapons? France has them, but that's it for EU member nations AFAIK.
by rootusrootus 5y ago
Is the EU going to arm itself with nuclear weapons? France has them, but that's it for EU member nations AFAIK.
- btilly 5y agoYou are correct. The complete list of countries known to have nuclear weapons worldwide is The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. Now that the UK is no longer in the EU, France is it. In fact France is surprisingly militaristic. For example it is the only EU country in the top 10 on https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.php https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.php.
- fleddr 5y agoTo "have" nuclear weapons in your context likely means "controls". Meaning, some of those countries store part of their nuclear weapons in other countries that are not on your list.
- Fnoord 5y agoCorrect. My country, The Netherlands, is hosting US nukes (not officially but its a public secret). Officially, we don't have nukes, nor do we host them.
- fleddr 5y agoI know, if I'd throw a stone right now, I might actually hit one.
- btilly 5y agoYou are correct, but less correct than you might think. Per https://fas.org/blogs/security/2006/11/new_article_where_the_bombs_ar/ https://fas.org/blogs/security/2006/11/new_article_where_the..., about 15 years ago the only country to put its nuclear weapons in other countries was the USA. That said, US nuclear missiles are in many EU countries thanks to NATO.
- bobthepanda 5y agoRemember that France was the first country calling for intervention in Libya, and made a big deal of pushing Clinton and Obama towards intervention. They are also wrapping up their own counterterrorism operation in the Sahel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barkhane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barkhane
- KingOfCoders 5y agoFrance offered nuclear weapons to Germany several times (mostly to share costs), Germany declined. Personally I think as Germans we need nuclear weapons, but the huge majority of Germans are against having them. [Edit] After 1990. Sarkozy: https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/thanks-but-no-thanks-sarko-s-nuke-offer-bombs-with-berlin-a-506124.html https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/thanks-but-no-th...
- rsj_hn 5y agoI did not know this, and frankly it seems to be at odds with my understanding of French politics during that period. I'm not saying you're wrong -- I'm happy to get other evidence, but can you point me to something? Update: thanks!