Belgian defence minister slams European leaders over nuclear issues “Keep your mouth shut”

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken sharply criticised European leaders’ public discussions of nuclear weapons, responding on X to a podcast by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“Regarding nuclear deterrence, I really don’t understand why European leaders are so talkative. It is unwise. Please, keep your mouth shut,” Francken said.

SCAF is dood aldus de Duitse bondskanselier @bundeskanzler in deze podcast. Er komt geen Frans-Duits zesde generatie jachtvliegtuig.

België was observator in het programma. We zullen onze positie herbepalen.

Ivm de nucleaire afschrikking begrijp ik echt niet waarom Europese…

— Theo Francken (@FranckenTheo) February 18, 2026

In the podcast, Merz ruled out the development of a German nuclear arsenal but noted that German fighter jets could potentially carry French and British nuclear warheads.

Both Germany and Belgium participate in the US nuclear sharing agreement, allowing their air forces to deploy American nuclear bombs.

Francken also addressed Merz’s critical comments on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter program, jointly developed by Germany, Spain, and France, calling the chancellor’s words a “death sentence” for the project.

“According to the German chancellor in this podcast, FCAS is dead. There will be no Franco-German sixth-generation fighter. Belgium has been an observer in this program. We will reconsider our position,” Francken said.

Their remarks come amid active debates on European nuclear deterrence ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s expected speech on the role of France’s nuclear arsenal on March 2.

By Jeyhun Aghazada