Burnham and Merz ratify security treaty as Germany backs closer UK-EU ties

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on his first official visit to Germany since taking office. The two leaders ratified the Kensington treaty, a bilateral agreement to boost security cooperation and counter cyber attacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats. Downing Street said deeper cooperation against rising hybrid threats from Russia would be high on the agenda.

The visit followed warnings from intelligence services in both countries. Last month Germany accused Russia of launching a drone fitted with explosives at Leipzig-Halle Airport. Burnham said attacks on infrastructure, businesses and democracies were not a distant threat. He said they reached into homes and workplaces and were designed to make people weaker and more divided. He added that Britain and Germany were joining forces to find, expose and disrupt this activity, and that security and growth went hand in hand.

At the joint appearance, Merz said the UK had regrettably left the European Union but the two countries now had a bilateral agreement. He said the agreement opened new opportunities for cooperation between Britain and Germany, and that Germany would do anything it could to bring the UK closer to Europe. Merz also said closer cooperation meant deeper industrial collaboration on quantum, space, AI and defence.

Burnham used the trip to build on his Labour conference speech, where he said he wanted to set out options later this year for a closer relationship with the EU, including the prospect of eventually rejoining. He said he wanted deeper cooperation with the EU and would say more at an expected UK-EU summit in November. France's finance minister, Roland Lescure, said Britain leaving the EU was sad and told the UK it could come back any time.

During the visit, Burnham said the UK was open to Germany joining an international programme to build the next generation of fighter aircraft. The two leaders also discussed trade, migration, defence and economic growth. The trip was seen as an extension of efforts begun by Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer, who signed the Kensington treaty with Merz in July last year. That treaty included plans for a direct train from London to Berlin over the next decade.

Merz's public backing is a boost for Burnham, who will need support from European capitals if he is serious about reforging ties. The visit also comes amid questions about defence spending, with warnings that the UK needs to spend 3% of GDP by 2030 to protect against a Russian attack on NATO. Burnham has not set out which model of closer EU relations he favours, whether that means the customs union, the single market or full membership. More detail is expected around next month's UK-EU summit.