Europeans are reconsidering their security and giving currency to an idea the U.S. has long sought to avoid: a nuclear-armed Germany.

The German chancellor-in-waiting said he would like talks with France and Britain about sharing weapons, but not as a substitute for U.S. nuclear protection of Europe.

German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz is open to negotiations regarding the joint use of nuclear weapons between the United Kingdom and France. However, he does not rule out the protection of the United States,