Finland has joined France’s Forward Deterrence Initiative under a strategic partnership formalized by the countries’ foreign ministers in Helsinki, expanding the initiative’s coverage to 11 European countries. Finland is the 10th European country to sign up, joining Britain, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark and Norway. The agreement comes as Russia is viewed as a growing threat and European governments reassess security arrangements amid uncertainty over the United States’ commitment to protecting the continent. A nuclear steering group will be established in the coming months. Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the initiative strengthens European security but does not replace NATO’s nuclear deterrence, and Finland does not plan to station nuclear weapons on its territory during peacetime. France’s framework leaves nuclear-use decisions solely with the French president while offering allied consultations, joint exercises and potential short-term deployments of nuclear-capable assets. Estonia is also discussing deeper nuclear cooperation with France. Prediction-market data in the existing record puts December 2026 NATO-Russia clash odds at 20.5% YES, compared with 8.5% for October 2026.