British premier Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed the first bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and Germany from the Second World War. The signature ceremony was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. “It is a privilege to have you here today, in particular to sign this treaty of Kensington which is a very special treaty, because it is the first of its kind ever, if you can believe it, between our two countries,” said British premier Keir Starmer.
The agreement, which covers sectors such as defense, foreign policy, transport and migration, commits the two countries to defend each other in the event of war, and arrives in a crucial moment for the relationships between the two banks of the sleeve, marking a further step in the normalization of the bonds after Brexit. “This is a historical day for German-British relationships,” said Merz during the ceremony.
Mutual defense clause
The Treaty provides for an explicit commitment by the United Kingdom and Germany to consider a threat against one like a threat against the other, declaring that the two countries “will witness each other each other, even with military means, in the event of a reinforced attack”. A formula that recalls the one used in the recent agreement between London and Paris on the coordination of nuclear forces.
The mutual assistance clause “in the light of the Russian aggression war against Ukraine, is highly significant,” commented a German official in recent days.
Germany wants to build the most powerful army in Europe
More cooperation
Merz’s visit follows that, which lasted three days, of the French president Emmanuel Macron, and indicates a will of the three main European powers to strengthen their cooperation. As Nicolai Von Ondarza of the SWP Institute of Berlin explained, “the Treaty is, on the one hand, a signal of the normalization of German-British relations, but on the other it is also a sign that the United Kingdom has become even more important as a partner in the field of safety, due to the transientland uncertainties”.
The concerns about the commitment of the United States in the European defense, especially after the return to the White House of Donald Trump, push the EU countries to strengthen their internal ties and military skills. Under Merz’s guidance, Germany has decided to bring military spending to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2029, the most ambitious rearmament plan since the end of the Cold War. Currently, Berlin is the third largest arms supplier of Ukraine, after the USA and the United Kingdom.
Defense: from rivals to industrial partners
The new agreement consolidates the defense understanding signed last year, which included the joint development of long -range weapons. Now the two countries have also committed themselves to “pursuing joint export campaigns” to promote abroad armaments produced in collaboration, such as the Typhoon Eurofighter hunting and the Boxer armored vehicle.
It is a remarkable inversion compared to the past decade, in which Berlin had blocked Typhoon sales to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. The Typhoon are produced by a European consortium that includes Bae Systems in the United Kingdom and Airbus in Germany, while the boxer is the result of an Anglo-German joint venture, Rheinmetall Bae Systems Land.
In an additional demonstration of the strengthened cessation, the German Stark company announced the construction of its first factory outside Germany: a system in the United Kingdom for the production of pilot -free systems powered by artificial intelligence.
Collaboration also on migrants and transport
The Treaty also provides for a new agreement to build a direct rail connection between Germany and the United Kingdom and to intensify the fight against irregular migration, priority of the British government.
In detail, Berlin has committed himself to launching a law by the end of the year prohibiting logistical support for illegal immigration to the United Kingdom. This rule would allow German law enforcement officers to investigate warehouses and deposits used by traffickers to hide the small boats used in the illegal crossing of the sleeve.
