BUCHAREST, March 6 (Reuters) - Romania will not host nuclear components on its territory in the medium term, centrist President Nicusor Dan said late on Thursday, in response to French plans to expand nuclear deterrence and collaborate with European partners.
Earlier this week, President Emmanuel Macron said France would expand its nuclear arsenal and potentially allow European partners to host French warplanes on nuclear deterrence missions.
France and Germany have established a nuclear steering group to discuss deterrence issues and will start concrete cooperation this year. Greece, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden could take part in French nuclear wargames, Macron said, while on Tuesday Romania said it too had been invited to talks.
"As a NATO state, Romania is under the NATO nuclear umbrella provided by the United States," Dan told reporters after an official visit to Warsaw.
"Being protected by the NATO umbrella does not imply the presence of nuclear elements on Romanian territory, and in the medium term, hosting nuclear components is out of the question."
Though France and Britain are both nuclear powers, most European countries have relied primarily on the United States for deterring any potential adversaries — a decades-old pillar of transatlantic security.
Macron's initiative comes amid criticism from the Trump administration of Europe's willingness and ability to defend itself and also amid concerns about growing global geopolitical instability as the United States and Israel strike Iran.
(Reporting by Luiza IlieEditing by Gareth Jones)
