France pressures Germany over nuclear risks of long-range missiles

France and Germany should deepen their defense cooperation and strengthen Europe's ability to ensure its own security, their defense ministers said Monday, citing satellite-based early-warning systems and long-range precision weapons as key areas for joint work. Speaking at the 14th session of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the war in Ukraine had shaken Europe's security order and highlighted the need for European nations to take greater responsibility for their own defense. "Europe is facing a major turning point. The war in Ukraine has shaken the order and peace we have known. We must take on greater responsibility and take greater control of our own security. France and Germany have an essential role to play," Pistorius said. He cited cooperation on satellite-based early-warning systems and long-range precision weapons as examples of joint capabilities indispensable to Europe's future security. French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin maintained that neither country could ensure its security alone in an increasingly rearming world, stressing the need for European security built through cooperation between sovereign states. Vautrin noted that advanced deterrence requires credible conventional support, which should translate into concrete operational capabilities, including early warning, ground-based air defense, and deep-strike capabilities. "These critical capabilities determine our credibility and our strategic autonomy," Vautrin said. She also highlighted the importance of strengthening Europe's defense industrial and technological base, urging European nations to evaluate what their domestic defense industries can deliver, within what timeframe, at what performance level, and at what cost. Vautrin argued that European funding should primarily support European suppliers, warning that off-continent purchases risk reinforcing the dependencies European countries seek to overcome. Pistorius stressed that France and Germany support Ukraine together within NATO and the European Union, adding that their cooperation is also reflected in the Group of Five framework initiated by both nations. Pistorius also blamed industrial disagreements for the collapse of the FCAS fighter project, stating it was launched with too much ideology and too little attention to contractual details. Speaking alongside Vautrin in Berlin on November 9, 2026, Pistorius argued the project had been launched before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine with an overly large ideological superstructure. Vautrin offered a different assessment, declining to describe FCAS as a failure and arguing that work already completed would allow partners to continue cooperating on networked combat capabilities. Beyond FCAS, Vautrin argued that European defense procurement should prioritize domestic industrial capabilities, warning that spending EU funds outside Europe would deepen existing dependencies. Despite the fighter program's collapse, France and Germany are pursuing closer cooperation on nuclear deterrence, with Vautrin recalling Paris's offer to involve European partners in President Emmanuel Macron's forward deterrence initiative unveiled in March 2026. Pistorius welcomed the offer but stressed that the United States remained Europe's principal nuclear ally, while control over French nuclear weapons would remain exclusively in French hands.