France / Netherlands / Nuclear deterrence

France and Netherlands hold first nuclear steering group talks

Officials met in Paris as France develops bilateral dialogues on forward deterrence.

15 OCT 2026 · 1 min read

Archive: Macron, Sánchez, Støre, Jetten and Rutte in Paris in July 2026. — Archive · NATO. Archive: Emmanuel Macron, Pedro Sánchez, Jonas Gahr Støre, Rob Jetten and Mark Rutte in Paris, 13 July 2026. Not the October nuclear steering group meeting. · Licence · Cropped for display. Context image, not a photograph of this event.

France and the Netherlands held their first Nuclear Steering Group meeting in Paris on 14 October, the Élysée announced on Thursday. Representatives of the French presidency and the Dutch prime minister’s office took part, alongside defence and foreign affairs officials.

What was agreed

The French presidency says the participants discussed closer bilateral cooperation and strategic convergence, and agreed next steps. It places the meeting within the bilateral dialogues announced in Emmanuel Macron’s Île Longue speech on forward deterrence.

Details remain limited

The statement does not specify the next steps or announce weapons deployments, a transfer of nuclear weapons or a new nuclear guarantee. The immediate development is an official channel for strategic discussions; concrete operational commitments cannot be inferred from this short announcement.