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German Coalition Policy on withdrawal of US nuclear weapons

6 November 2009

The new German coalition government has announced a new policy of withdrawal of US nuclear weapons based in Europe.

Withdrawing US Nuclear Weapons from Europe

The new German CDU (Christian Democrat) and FDP (Liberals) coalition has agreed on a policy of withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from Germany. Their coalition agreement says that:

"We emphatically support President Obama’s proposals for new far-reaching disarmament initiatives – including the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world....

We observe with concern the erosion of the international disarmament and arms control architecture. We are convinced that follow-agreements to those treaties that expire have to be negotiated and that the missing ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty or the adapted CFE-Treaty have to be completed.

We will support the conclusion of new disarmament and arms control agreements. We want to use the 2010 NPT review conference to initiate a new dynamic for treaty-based accords...

Against this background, and in the context of the talks on a new Strategic Concept for NATO we will advocate within NATO and towards our U.S. allies a withdrawal of remaining nuclear weapons from Germany. With a view towards preserving the agreements within the CFE-regime, we are ready on our part to ratify the adapted CFE-treaty."

Full text in Germany is available at the Der Spiegel website.)

This represents a change of policy for the CDU, which had previously refused such a move. The policy is being driven by FDP leader and new Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle.

Westerwelle has already held talks with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, and the two ministers later told the press that they would work together on this issue.

On 3 November, Westerwelle held talks on a variety of issues with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. This included discussion of the future NATO Strategic Concept negotiations, and in particular the nuclear weapons issue. Focus magazine reports that:

Westerwelle made clear in his talks with the NATO Secretary-General that the requirement in the new government coalition agreement for withdrawal of all nuclear weapons from Germany should be closely coordinated with the Allies. "We decide together. It alone is not what has the new German federal government in mind, "said Westerwelle. 

Rasmussen was also relieved: "It is of utmost importance that such decisions are taken within the Alliance and that no unilateral action be taken," said the NATO Secretary General. Disarmament issues relate to all 28 NATO countries, ".. it is a question of collective security and deterrence policy. I noted with satisfaction that the position of the new German government that any decisions are taken in a multilateral framework. "

Meanwhile, the Belgian foreign minister, Yves Leterme, who will hold talks with Westerwelle in early November, told the Belgian Senate that he will discuss the issue with German, Dutch and Luxembourgeois colleagues in the course of the coming week. He said that Belgium is a partisan for a nuclear weapon free world and that removing US nuclear weapons from Europe is a crucial step towards that goal. Like Germans, Leterme advocates achieving this goal in a NATO framework. Leterme said that he would like the NATO ministerial meeting this December to discuss the issue.

The new Norwegian government also endorsees the need to debate the role of nuclear weapons in Alliance strategy, and is ready to reduce that role.

On 5 November Westerwelle visited the United States for discussions on this and other issues. It was noted that they agreed the