Merz visits UK as Europe closes ranks in face of threats

BERLIN/LONDON - Mr Friedrich Merz embarked on his first trip to London as German chancellor on July 17 to sign a wide-ranging friendship treaty with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, part of a broader push to reset the EU’s relationship with Britain.

Mr Merz’s day trip follows a three-day state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron, signalling greater cooperation between Europe’s top three powers at a time of threats to the continent and uncertainty about their US ally.

Europe has been confronted with new US tariffs since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, as well as questions about US commitment to defend its European allies including Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.

“The agreement comes at a time when, as Europeans, we are particularly challenged in terms of security policy,” a German government official said in a briefing ahead of the trip.

“Not stated in the preamble is that transatlantic matters are also – let’s put it this way – in flux. This, too, is part of the context.”

Germany has such friendship treaties with just a handful of countries like France, symbolising the closeness of their ties.

Coming nearly a decade after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the treaty includes a clause on mutual assistance which, “in the light of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, is highly significant”, the official said.

It builds on a defence deal agreed in 2024 that included the joint development of long-range strike weapons, and comes after France and Britain agreed last week to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear arsenals.

As part of the announcement on July 17, Britain and Germany will pledge to “pursue joint export campaigns” to drum up orders from other countries for equipment they make jointly, such as the Typhoon Eurofighter jet and Boxer armoured vehicle.

That could help boost sales, and represents a significant reversal from the previous 10 years, when Germany blocked Saudi Arabia and Turkey from buying Typhoons.

Typhoons are made by a consortium of European companies, including BAE Systems in Britain and Airbus in Germany, with the different partner governments responsible for orders to different countries; the Boxer is made by a German-British joint venture, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land.

Further deepening ties, German defence tech company Stark has also agreed to build a new factory in Britain – the first production facility outside of Germany – to create AI-powered unmanned systems.

Beyond defence, the treaty will also include an agreement to jointly combat smuggling and human trafficking, the German official said, addressing a key demand of Mr Starmer’s government which is under pressure to show it can control migration.

The British government said Germany would make a landmark commitment to outlaw the facilitation of illegal migration to Britain, with a law change to be adopted by the end of 2025.

That would give law enforcement the tools to investigate warehouses and storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal dangerous small boats intended for illegal crossings to Britain, it said in a statement. REUTERS