“We want to considerably reduce illegal immigration throughout Europe,” said Friedrich Merz. President Emmanuel Macron will be in Berlin next Wednesday, after his state visit to England last week.
According to Merz, the positions of the three countries of the group “E3” “closely come closer to security policy, migration policy, but also economic policy”. The agreement announced Thursday between London and Berlin, called Kensington Treaty, was described as “historic” by Starmer, who received Merz in Downing Street, after the signing at Victoria & Albert Museum.
Facilitation for exchanges
The Kensington Treaty contains an agreement to simplify border procedures during school exchanges. Allowing “the new generation” to get to know each other is a “good basis” for the development of relations, said Friedrich Merz at the signature.
This agreement will also allow the British to use the electronic gantry to scan their passports faster when they arrived in Germany, from the end of August.
Reinforced cooperation in defense
Against the background of war in Ukraine, the agreement anchors the will of the two countries to “strengthen Euro-Atlantic security and ensure effective deterrence against potential attackers” thanks to their defense forces. The two leaders plan to strengthen cooperation in this area in the future.
Downing Street added that the two leaders agreed to strengthen arms exports, such as boxer armored vehicles and typhoon planes. Additional orders could reach “billions of pounds”.
Long -range missiles
In mid-May, the two countries had already announced that he wanted to work together on long-range missiles of 2,000 km. This range is much higher than that of the Franco-British cruise missiles Storm Shadow.
During the state visit of Emmanuel Macron last week, Paris and London acted a scale in terms of nuclear deterrence. The two countries have promised to coordinate their respective means in the event of a threat to Europe.
Post-Brexit warming
On the occasion of the Chancellor’s arrival in London, a German government source said that “should not be underestimated” how relations with the United Kingdom have improved since Brexit’s “traumatic” experience. Friedrich Merz, however, said personally “deplore” the departure of the country of the European Union.
The agreement between London and Berlin must also allow more cooperation in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence. On the transport side, the two countries want to improve their rail links. Last month, Eurostar announced that he wanted to launch a train connecting Frankfurt to London in early 2030, which would be the first direct connection between the United Kingdom and Germany.
(AFP) Note: This article was published with the help of artificial intelligence.
