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Great Britain is looking for a way out of the Brexit error! London restarts relations with the EU in Berlin

The leaders of Great Britain and Germany have agreed to work on an ambitious treaty covering a range of issues - from defense to trade, Reuters reports

Aug 28, 2024 17:25 133

Great Britain is looking for a way out of the Brexit error! London restarts relations with the EU in Berlin  - 1

The leaders of Great Britain and Germany have agreed to work on "ambitious" agreement covering a number of issues - from defense to trade, reports "Reuters".

The agreement will be part of the reset of Britain's relationship with the European Union.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's two-day visit to the EU's top powers, Germany and France, aims to help Britain overcome the former Conservative government's controversial relationship with European allies. Starmer, who took office last month, has made improved ties central to his efforts to boost Britain's economic growth.

He described the new cooperation agreement as a "once-in-a-generation chance to deliver results for working people in Britain and Germany" as it would deepen cooperation in science, technology, business and culture while increasing trade.

"Let me be clear, growth is the number one mission of my government," Starmer said. "And what we clearly understand is that building relationships with our partners here in Germany and across Europe is vital to achieving it.

Starmer clarified that the reboot would not mean reversing Britain's 2020 exit from the EU under the Conservatives or re-entering the bloc's single market or customs union.

"But this means closer relations on a number of fronts, including the economy, defense, exchange,", he said.

Scholz emphasized that Germany wants to take this extended hand.

"The United Kingdom has always been an indispensable part of solving the big problems that affect the whole of Europe," he pointed out. "This has not changed since it left the EU.

In a joint statement, Britain and Germany said they hoped to sign the co-operation agreement on government consultations "by the beginning of next year". Defense ministers are also working on a new defense agreement, which will follow the signing of a joint defense declaration in July.

Britain and Germany, NATO allies and Western Europe's biggest defense consumers, are looking for ways to deepen defense cooperation ahead of a possible reduction in US military support for Ukraine if the former president USA Donald Trump will return to the White House early next year.

An Anglo-German defense partnership could resemble the Lancaster agreement between Britain and France agreed in 2010, with commitments to create joint forces and share nuclear missile equipment and research centres.

Starmer also said the two countries would deepen cooperation on shared social challenges such as human trafficking, agreeing to develop a joint action plan to tackle illegal migration.

The issue is a hot topic in Germany this week given last Friday's attack in which a 26-year-old member of the "Islamic State" from Syria was accused of killing three people in a knife attack.