The Social Democrats’ party leader Magdalena Andersson criticizes the government’s decision to take part in talks with France about expanded European nuclear cooperation. According to her, it is unclear why this dialogue is being conducted in a small group of NATO countries when Europe already has significant nuclear deterrence. At the same time, she sends a message to Russia that Europe already has the capability to “bomb the country to pieces.”

The background is that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced last week that Sweden had accepted an invitation to discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron. The purpose of these talks is to explore how France’s nuclear force could serve as protection for more European NATO countries—a form of nuclear umbrella.

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However, in an interview with TV4 Nyheterna’s interview series Frågan, it becomes clear that the Social Democrats are not offering obvious support for the initiative.

“We have questioned why this decision was made. We are skeptical towards it.”

According to Andersson, it would have been better not to participate, pointing out that only a few countries are involved.

Already Capable of Taming Russia

The Social Democratic leader further points out that EU countries already possess a strong deterrence through the nuclear weapons in France and the United Kingdom.

“We already have nuclear weapons in Europe, providing a clear deterrent to Russia. As it stands, even today, Europe has nuclear weapons so we can bomb Russia to pieces. But a real topic for discussion is also—if the French wish to make their nuclear weapons available to countries other than just France, why is this not done within the framework of NATO?” Andersson tells TV4.

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