The leaders of Germany and the United Kingdom announced plans on Wednesday to draw up a treaty meant to deepen the two nations’ trade, defense and other ties. The move comes as new U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer moves ahead with plans for a “reset” of relations with the European Union. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he welcomes fellow center-left leader Starmer’s desire for a new beginning in relations with the EU, and “we want to take this outstretched hand.”
Quick Read
- Germany and the UK announced plans to draw up a new bilateral treaty to deepen trade, defense, and other ties between the two nations.
- The initiative comes as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks a “reset” in relations with the European Union, aiming to rebuild ties strained by Brexit.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed Starmer’s desire for a new beginning with the EU, expressing Germany’s willingness to cooperate.
- Starmer, who took office in July, hopes to conclude the ambitious and wide-ranging bilateral agreement with Germany by the end of the year.
- The treaty is expected to cover trade, the economy, defense, and more, with a commitment from both leaders to continue supporting Ukraine militarily.
- The two countries also plan to develop a joint action plan to tackle illegal migration, with Starmer’s government still facing pressure to address small boat crossings in the English Channel.
- The proposed treaty is modeled partly on similar agreements the UK has made with France on defense, security, and law enforcement against people-smuggling gangs.
- Starmer emphasized that his efforts to reset relations with the EU do not involve reversing Brexit or rejoining the single market or customs union, but rather fostering closer cooperation on multiple fronts.
The Associated Press has the story:
Germany & UK seek a new bilateral treaty as Starmer pursues a ‘reset’ with EU
Newslooks- BERLIN (AP) —
The leaders of Germany and the United Kingdom announced plans on Wednesday to draw up a treaty meant to deepen the two nations’ trade, defense and other ties. The move comes as new U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer moves ahead with plans for a “reset” of relations with the European Union. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he welcomes fellow center-left leader Starmer’s desire for a new beginning in relations with the EU, and “we want to take this outstretched hand.”
Starmer took office in early July after the previous Conservative government was trounced in an election. Four years after the U.K. left the EU, he says he wants to rebuild ties strained by years of ill-tempered wrangling over Brexit terms. He said that he hopes to conclude the bilateral agreement with Germany, which has Europe’s biggest economy, by the end of this year. “That will be ambitious, it will be wide-ranging, covering trade, the economy, defense and many other issues,” he told reporters. The two leaders are among Ukraine’s biggest military backers and stressed their commitment to keeping up that support.
Starmer said that the two countries also plan to draw up a “joint action plan to tackle illegal migration.” His government still faces pressure to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, though it scrapped the Conservatives’ contentious plan to send them on a one-way trip to Rwanda.
Migration is also an issue on which Scholz’s government has long been under heavy pressure, even more so since Friday’s attack in Solingen in which a suspected extremist from Syria who had avoided being deported is accused of killing three people.
The proposed U.K.-Germany treaty is modeled in part on agreements that Britain struck in recent years with France on defense, security and closer law enforcement cooperation against people-smuggling gangs.
Starmer sent a signal by visiting Berlin early in his term — unlike predecessor Rishi Sunak, who took 18 months. But his talk of starting anew with the EU has its limits. He has ruled out many of the major possible steps to closer ties and has been cool to the idea of a youth mobility agreement with the 27-nation bloc. “I’m absolutely clear that we do want a reset … with Europe, a reset with the EU,” Starmer said in Berlin.
However, “that does not mean reversing Brexit or reentering the single market or the customs union, but it does mean a closer relation on a number of fronts — including the economy, including defense, including exchanges, but we do not have plans for the youth mobility scheme.”
