EU nuclear weapons ‘unrealistic,’ says German defense committee chair

The EU should prioritize other areas over developing an independent nuclear deterrent, which is an unrealistic proposal, a top German defense policymaker said Wednesday.

A debate on the potential need for EU nuclear weapons has opened up in Germany following U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent remarks on NATO members that don't meet the target of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense.

“This is ultimately an evolved, sophisticated system in which the whole of Europe must be protected," Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the Bundestag defense committee, said in an interview on Wednesday. "I don't think most people know what that means — apart from the costs.”

Her comments follow an op-ed published the same day by Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who wrote that Europe must stick to nuclear deterrence given Trump's comments.

According to Strack-Zimmermann, Lindner was referring to France, but she stressed it's clear that Europe as a whole must work more closely. Ramping up nuclear defense would mean getting both France and Great Britain to "sit at the same table," Strack-Zimmermann said, and to "detach from the EU and think European."

The debate about nuclear weapons has triggered various responses. Former Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, for instance, called for the expansion of nuclear deterrence on Wednesday.

All EU members are signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which is supposed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and facilitate cooperation between nuclear and non-nuclear countries.

Some 191 states have signed the agreement. India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan have never signed the treaty, while North Korea announced its retreat in 2003. According to its official website, the EU is “firmly committed to uphold and to strengthen the integrity” of the Treaty.

Nonetheless, Katarina Barley, a German Social Democrat MEP, said that Europe isn't safely protected by the U.S.'s nuclear capabilities. "In view of Donald Trump's latest statements, this can no longer be relied upon," she told the Tagesspiegel. Asked whether the EU needed its own nuclear bombs, the SPD politician replied: "On the way to a European army, this could also become an issue."

Strack-Zimmermann, though, believes that the EU needs to convince the United States of the importance of remaining involved in Europe. "I don't believe that the States will let go of taking Europe under its umbrella, because they also benefit from it themselves," she said.

Strack-Zimmermann, who is the lead candidate for the German FDP in the EU election, believes that building a common European army and cyber defense should be a priority instead.

“We must urgently address the fact that Europe must become self-sufficient. It would be helpful if we were to start procuring together; If we became concrete, built a common European army, built European cyber defense - not even that is working yet.”

While France is the only EU country with its own nuclear weapons, several host U.S. nuclear weapons, including Germany.