Britain and Germany signed a wide-ranging friendship treaty on Thursday as the European giants sought to deepen institutional ties in areas from defence and security to transport.
At a press conference at an Airbus factory, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he wanted to tackle illegal immigration through co-operation between the UK, Germany and France. He said the three countries were “converging” on policy matters such as migration and security.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “very grateful” to Mr Merz for planned changes to German law to criminalise facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the UK. More than 20,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year, having travelled across Europe first.
Mr Starmer said: "For a long time, I’ve been very concerned about the fact that engines, in particular, but component parts of the boats that are being used are travelling through and being stored in Germany, but they can’t be seized because the law didn’t accommodate for a country which had left the EU and therefore needed to be amended.
“We’ve discussed this at great length on a number of occasions, he’s [Mr Merz is] now going to change the law, introduce the necessary legislation, so that we can intervene in that place.”
Earlier, Mr Starmer hailed the “closeness” of the UK and Germany, as the two nations signed a treaty set to free up school exchange visits and passport e-gates.
Signed alongside Mr Merz, the deal is to be known as the Kensington Treaty. At the ceremony at the V&A Museum in London, Mr Starmer said they will look to “work ever more closely” on issues such as trade, security and defence.
The countries promised to pursue “deep exchanges” on security issues such as arms policy, and chemical biological radiological and nuclear threats as well as counter-terror and space security. A direct rail link between London and Berlin will also be explored.
The treaty comes as part of a wider visit by Mr Merz as No 10 Downing Street launched investments by defence firms and specialist technology developers.
An official said of the bilateral treaty: “The leaders reflected on the importance of the treaty in demonstrating the UK and Germany’s status as the closest of strategic partners and celebrated the opportunity to deepen ties, tackle shared challenges and invest in shared strengths together."
Mr Merz said he had been “surprised” to learn that the agreement was the first UK-Germany treaty since the Second World War. “Finalising a treaty like this with each other is overdue,” he said. “We had you in the European Union and we thought that was enough but we are now learning that it’s not enough so we have to do more on that.”
A new long-range missile system – the Deep Precision Strike capability – is on the drawing board to be delivered in the next decade, the UK government said.
It will have a range of more than 2,000 kilometres and the participants hope it will help boost the UK and European defence sectors through “significant industrial investment.”
There was also a target set for the establishment of direct train links between Britain and Germany.
And London was pleased to land new commitments on tackling people smuggling, with Germany promising new laws that make facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the UK a criminal offence.
Mr Merz is expected to commit to adopting the law change by the end of the year and No 10 described the move as a “significant step”.
The two leaders addressed the situation in the Middle East, declaring the conflict in Gaza unacceptable. "They underlined the urgent need for a ceasefire and the return of all hostages, to pave the way for a two-state solution and a secure future for Palestinians and Israelis," a British spokesman said.
