Just two months after taking office, Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer is visiting Berlin. Together with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he is announcing an agreement that will reorganize relations after Brexit.
The meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz is a clear signal. Both countries want to put their relations on a new footing after Brexit. As both heads of government announced, a joint agreement is to be signed at the beginning of next year.
“I am pleased about Keir Starmer’s announcement that he will seek a new start in his relationship with the European Union. We want to take this outstretched hand,” said Scholz.
Cooperation on security and economic policy sought
Starmer’s Labour Party belongs to the same European party family as Chancellor Scholz’s SPD. “There has never been such a treaty between Germany and the United Kingdom,” Scholz stressed. The treaty between the two countries is to be signed after the government consultations that will follow, according to a joint statement on the project.
The agreement is to cover a wide range of topics. Both countries want to coordinate on security policy issues as well as on the prosecution of irregular migration. The agreement is also to cover economic cooperation.
Chance for a new era, but no return to the EU
Starmer spoke of an opportunity that only comes along once in a generation. “We want a fresh start,” said the new British head of government. He came to Germany for his inaugural visit after only about two months in office. His conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak had waited 18 months before making his inaugural visit to Berlin in April this year.
However, Starmer ruled out his country’s return to the EU. There would also be no re-entry into the EU customs union or the single market, said the Labour leader in Berlin.
