Norway formalized its inclusion in France's nuclear umbrella initiative on May 27, signing a defense agreement in Paris aimed at strengthening European security [1, 2, 3]. The pact makes Norway the ninth country to join, after Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom [3, 4, 5].

The initiative allows France’s strategic air forces, capable of deploying nuclear weapons, to be temporarily based on member states’ territories. Norway will not deploy nuclear weapons on its soil during peacetime but sees French nuclear capabilities as a key supplement to NATO and US deterrence [1, 2, 4, 6, 5].

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere described the current security environment as “the most serious security situation since the Second World War” [2, 3, 4, 6, 5]. He said, “France's capabilities are an important contribution to NATO's deterrence posture, which is important for us” [1]. Stoere highlighted that the agreement also includes cooperation on hybrid warfare, maritime security, space, cybersecurity, support to Ukraine, and defense industry collaboration [2, 3]. “The agreement strengthens our cooperation through concrete structures, plans, exercises and prepositioning of equipment, enabling rapid and coordinated response when needed,” he said [4].

French President Emmanuel Macron launched the umbrella initiative in March 2026 as part of steps toward greater European strategic autonomy [1, 2, 3, 4]. Macron called the pact a “principle of mutual assistance between our two countries” and said Norway’s location makes it “a key geographical and strategic partner... its inclusion will represent a strong added value for this enhanced deterrence” [1, 3]. Macron stated that “Europe is facing the most serious security situation since World War II” [5].

France remains the only nuclear-armed EU country, with approximately 290 warheads, far fewer than the United States or Russia, which each have over 5,000 [6, 5]. Although Norway is a NATO member and not in the EU, it shares concerns with other countries bordering Russia, such as Poland and Lithuania, about long-term US security commitments [1, 7, 6, 5].

The deal deepens defense ties beyond nuclear deterrence to new areas including space cooperation, cybersecurity, and support for Ukraine [1, 2, 3, 4]. It positions Norway closer to France’s strategic planning and signals European efforts to reduce dependence on US military power [1, 7, 4, 5].