The Prime Minister met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Downing Street this afternoon following the signing of a new UK-Germany bilateral treaty, the first of its kind.
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.
The Prime Minister thanked Chancellor Merz for his commitment to introduce legislation to be adopted by the end of the year to make it illegal to facilitate illegal migration to the UK. The Prime Minister said that this will make a significant difference in disrupting the criminal networks driving small boats crossings to the UK. Both leaders agreed that tackling irregular migration is an absolute priority and they would look at how they could go further together to tackle it.
The Prime Minister also welcomed the news that Germany would be opening its eGates for frequent travellers from the UK by the end of the summer and looked forward to this being extended to all travellers as soon as possible.
On defence and security, the leaders reflected on the important commitments made today to deliver the new Deep Precision Strike capability within the next decade and agreed that closer cooperation on defence exports and between their defence industries will pose valuable opportunities for economic growth in both the UK and Germany.
They agreed that it remains vital to provide steadfast support to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s illegal war, and that they would stand together with Ukraine as long as it takes.
Turning to the situation in the Middle East, the leaders agreed that the situation in Gaza was 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.
Finally, the leaders reflected on how the Treaty signed today would be the basis of a relationship between their two countries that would be closer than ever and looked forward to continuing to work together on their shared priorities.
