6 hours agoGermany, Britain sign bilateral defence pact
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)Britain and Germany signed a key defence treaty Thursday, a further test of how European leaders are joining to face a security landscape confused by foreign policy “The America of President Trump's para” and President Vladimir Putin's ruthless attack on Ukraine. The Anglo-German Agreement, signed by [...]
The Anglo-German agreement, signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his visit to London, covers energy, economic co-operation and migration, except defence, reports “New York Times”
It is based on an agreement signed last October, under which the two countries agreed to co-operate in bilateral defence, joint military exercises and the development of sophisticated weapons.
The treaty includes a promise by both countries to consider a threat against one another, stating they will help each other, including military means, in the event of an armed attack on the other”.
This echoed the language adopted by Britain and France, which pledged last week to co-ordinate their nuclear arsenals more closely in response to threats against European allies.
NYT writes that Merz, a centre-right leader who came to power in May, has appeared soon as a key point in Europe's efforts to build a more independent role in its security since Trump's return to the White House.
Germany does not own nuclear weapons, but is the third largest supplier of military equipment in Ukraine, after the United States and Britain, according to the Kiel Institute for World Economics.
German officials told reporters this week that the agreement, which they call “friendship contracts”, is the latest attempt to approach the two countries at a time of increased security concerns and overcome divisions that were opened from Britain's exit from the European Union.
