Keir Starmer has promised to “turn the tide on Brexit” and restore productive relations with EU member states ahead of a brief visit to Berlin for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz expected to focus on defence and trade.
The prime minister said the trip was part of a wider effort to repair the “broken relations” with European neighbours left by the last government.
This, he added, is a “unique opportunity to reshape our relations with Europe”.
Starmer, who will travel on to Paris on Wednesday to meet Emmanuel Macron and attend the opening of the Paris Paralympics, will also meet German business leaders and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his stopover of less than 18 hours.
His attempt to renegotiate Britain’s European relations is part of a broader strategy to make controversial decisions early in his term as prime minister and reap the benefits of those decisions just before the next election.
On Tuesday, he had already hinted that tax rises were on the cards in the October budget, warning that it would be a “painful” budget statement. Last week, the Guardian revealed that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was considering raising capital gains and inheritance tax to close the £22 billion deficit that Labour is said to have inherited.
In addition, the government is under pressure over its decision to cut winter heating allowances for 10 million pensioners and for awarding a number of senior public service jobs to Labour supporters and donors.
Starmer said on Tuesday that this was all part of an initiative to repair the British state after “14 years of decay”.
Another focus of the talks with Scholz will be on migration and asylum seekers, including discussions on intelligence findings on unofficial border crossings.
A major focus will be on defence and security, with the UK and Germany entering into negotiations on a bilateral treaty modelled on an agreement signed by David Cameron with France in 2010 that sets out a 50-year plan for defence cooperation.
Number 10 said that a British team would spend six months on the contract and that both countries wanted to sign it in early 2025.
As for strengthening joint plans to counter a more aggressive and expansionist Russia, defence cooperation is one of the EU’s key priorities before Starmer’s government tries to negotiate a revised post-Brexit deal with Brussels.
Germany and France are the bloc’s main players in defence, with Macron particularly keen to concentrate defence procurement in Europe.
In a commentary published by No 10 before Starmer’s departure for Berlin on Tuesday, the prime minister said his government had “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset our relationship with Europe and strive for genuine, ambitious partnerships that benefit the British people”.
He said: “We need to get a grip on Brexit and repair the broken relationships left by the previous government. This work began last month at the European Political Community meeting and I am determined to continue it. That is why I am visiting Germany and France this week.”
“Strengthening our relations with these countries is vital not only to address the global problem of illegal migration, but also to boost economic growth across the continent and especially in the UK – one of the most important tasks of my government.”
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Starmer met Scholz and Macron at the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace and at the Nato summit in Washington. Number 10 said this week’s meeting was the prime minister’s fifth with the German chancellor since Labour’s election victory in the UK and his fourth with the French president.
Sources in Germany said the deal with Britain could partly resemble a long-standing agreement between Berlin and France that covers a range of bilateral issues but avoids EU-related topics such as trade.
The Franco-German cooperation agreement signed in Aachen in 2019 also provides for joint cultural and digital programs and the extension of an existing youth mobility program to young people with special needs. Last week, Downing Street explicitly ruled out participating in youth mobility programs as part of a revised agreement with the EU.
Procuring military contracts in the UK could also be an option – last year the German Ministry of Defence signed a contract with a Dutch shipyard as one of the main contractors for warships.
According to sources in Germany, Scholz has already expressed his desire to strengthen relations with Britain. He wants to “build on them quickly”, especially with everything that could help interstate trade, which has been damaged by Brexit.
A German source said Scholz, who faces a potentially dangerous federal election next year, would like to swap tips with a left-wing politician who just won a landslide victory. “They are two socialists; they are also two technocrats; they will want to learn from each other,” the source said.
As part of the trade-related part of the trip, Starmer will meet Christian Bruch, CEO of Siemens Energy, and Armin Theodor Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest defense company.
Starmer’s schedule in Germany is short but packed: among other things, he will have a military guard and, after the talks with Scholz, will hold a joint press conference with the Chancellor.
After leaving for Paris on Wednesday, the prime minister was due to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics and a reception at the Élysée Palace with Macron and others. In France, he was also due to meet with French business leaders.
