British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron launched a series of comprehensive agreements on Thursday (July 10).
The agreements mark a deepening of bilateral relations through coordinated nuclear deterrence cooperation and a new migration control scheme.
NUCLEAR ALLIANCE
On the final day of Macron's three-day visit to the UK, Starmer announced that the two sides had signed the Northwoods Declaration, a joint nuclear statement that for the first time committed to coordinating their independent nuclear deterrents.
Speaking alongside Macron at Permanent Joint Headquarters, Starmer described the Northwoods Declaration as "truly historic," noting that the move was made in response to what the two leaders described as "extreme threats" to European security.
"From today, our enemies will know that any extreme threat to this continent will trigger a response from both our countries," Starmer said.
Echoing Starmer's remarks, Macron said, "This decision means we do not exclude coordination on each other's deterrence. This is a message that our partners and adversaries should hear."
"We cannot imagine any extreme threat situation in Europe that would not trigger a rapid response on our part," he added, adding that an oversight committee would coordinate cooperation between the two sides.
US President Donald Trump's "questioning of burden-sharing in NATO and his overtures to Russia have raised existential questions in Europe about the transatlantic relationship and Washington's commitment to helping defend its European allies," Reuters reported on Friday (July 11), noting that Europe's primary nuclear deterrent comes from the US.
At the close of the NATO summit in The Hague last month, Macron, who has repeatedly called for increased European independence from the US, urged Trump to ease trade tensions as NATO members agreed to increase defense spending.
