Merz makes first trip to London amid warming post-Brexit ties
The visit is Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times, including on a trip to Ukraine just days after he took office in early May.
Merz's trip comes a week after a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron, the first by an EU head of state since the UK left the bloc five years ago.
The wide-ranging new treaty between Germany and Britain will refer to the turbulent security situation that both countries face and include a mutual defence pact.
"There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other," the text is expected to say, alongside a pledge that the two countries "shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack".
While Britain and Germany already have a commitment to mutual defence as NATO members, the treaty is expected to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including in weapons development and operations on NATO's eastern flank.
The two countries already signed a landmark defence agreement in October and in May said they would begin developing strike missiles with a range of 2,000-plus kilometres (1,250 miles).
Merz and Starmer are set to announce Thursday that this system will be delivered within the next decade, and they will unveil a new agreement on boosting UK defence exports to Germany such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets.
Overcoming Brexit 'trauma'
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will accompany Merz on the visit and is expected to meet his British counterpart David Lammy.
A German government source said of the visit that "we shouldn't underestimate" how much relations with the UK had improved since the "traumatic" experience of Brexit.
The treaty will include measures to improve citizens' contacts between the two countries, for example by simplifying border procedures for school trips.
The two leaders are also set to commit to doing more to tackle irregular migration, a key domestic priority for both Merz and Starmer.
Merz's government is expected to make a commitment to modify German law by the end of the year to criminalise the facilitation of "illegal migration". This will include action against storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings.
The text will also include sections on science and technology, with more cooperation promised in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence.
It will also establish a new UK-Germany Business Forum, with several German companies poised to announce new investment in Britain on Thursday.
On the topic of transport, the two countries will commit to improving train connections.
Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s, which would be the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany.
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France 24
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- France 24
Why has France decided to recognise Palestinian statehood?
International envoys are set to discuss a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict early next week in New York, before a further summit co-hosted by France ahead of the UN General Assembly in September. Why now? Macron's announcement on Thursday came as international alarm grew about the plight of the more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel's war against the Hamas militant group has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation. "The sense of urgency may have driven the president to move forward alone," France's former ambassador to Israel Gerard Araud told the France Inter broadcaster. Besides the humanitarian crisis and "the shocking declarations of certain Israeli ministers" on the fate they wish for all Gazans, Macron may also have been influenced by the political climate in France, said David Khalfa of the Jean Jaures Foundation. The war has triggered tensions in France, which is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the biggest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States. What's the plan? France has long advocated for the so-called "two-state solution" for a Palestinian state to live in peace side-by-side with an Israeli one. Macron's original idea was for France and other countries to recognise a Palestinian state at the same time as other nations -- including Gulf heavyweight Saudi Arabia -- normalised ties with Israel. As that proposal did not appear to gain traction, Macron made his announcement in the hope of spurring others to do likewise in the run-up to September's UN General Assembly, said analyst Amelie Ferey. "The idea is to have a little over a month to potentially rally other countries to make a larger announcement in New York," said Ferey, an analyst at the French Institute of International Relations. "The United Kingdom and Canada could perhaps follow suit," she added. Will it work? Canada, France and Britain were among 25 countries on Monday to say the Gaza war "must end now", arguing that the suffering of civilians had "reached new depths". Mujtaba Rahman, the Europe director of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was under pressure from his Labour party to act. "He wants to move in concert with other countries and use recognition as a card in negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza," he said. "But the timing is awkward" as US President Donald Trump arrives in Scotland on Friday evening, he added. "Starmer will be reluctant to upset him when there's still things to be done on the UK-US trade deal." Why team up with Riyadh? As France has no leverage to end the current Gaza war, "the idea in Paris is to let the United States impose a ceasefire, and for Paris to then be an important actor afterwards, along with the Saudis," said Ferey. Camille Lons, an expert from the European Council on Foreign Relations, said France and Saudi Arabia were working on a post-ceasefire roadmap. This would include proposals for "the isolation and disarmament of Hamas, Palestinian elections in 2026, a new legal framework for political parties" and "the prospect of having a technocratic government", she said. Other options on the table could include a UN peacekeeping mission, including personnel from neighbouring Egypt, she said. "The goal is to garner support from countries in the region for the sidelining of Hamas, including Qatar," an ally of the Palestinian Islamist group, she added. Is it realistic? But "this is all quite detached from reality", warned Lons. For Ferey, "the Israeli government's goal is for there to be no Palestinian state." After almost 22 months of war in Gaza, sparked by an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, the blockaded Palestinian territory has been largely ravaged by bombardment. And Israel's far-right government is pushing for the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Many Israelis now live in what would become a Palestinian state. Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and its 200,000 Jewish residents, the occupied West Bank is home to around 500,000 Israelis in settlements considered illegal under international law. Three million Palestinians also live in the West Bank. Khalfa added that Saudi Arabia had no intention to normalise its ties with Israel for as long as Prime Minister Netanyahu -- who critics accuse of prolonging the Gaza war to stay in office -- remains in power.
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
What does France's decision to recognize Palestine mean?
Whether seen as reckless or bold, French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognize Palestine as a state could have some consequences in the future. The French president said in a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and posted on X that he will formalize the decision at the U.N. General Assembly in September. 'France will rally in favour of the implementation of the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,' Macron wrote. 'This solution is the only path forward which allows us to respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis as well as Palestinians,' he added. But what does recognizing Palestine mean? Why does it matter? And what is likely to happen? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? France is the most powerful country in Europe to have said it would recognize a Palestinian state, soon joining 147 states that have already done so. It will also join the 11 European countries, which officially recognize Palestinian statehood, including Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. For many of these countries, the act of recognition means acknowledging the sovereignty and independence of Palestine in its pre-1967 borders (i.e. in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem) and establishing full diplomatic relations with the country. France would then join the countries that already host a full-fledged Palestinian embassy. WHY IT (SOMEWHAT) MATTERS? France has Europe's largest Jewish population, as well as the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. As one of the founding fathers of the European Union, its voice carries a lot of weight not only in Europe but also around the world. Its decision to recognize Palestine is likely to put additional pressure on Israel at a time when the word genocide is used by a growing number of historians and legal experts to designate Tel Aviv's war in the Gaza strip. Earlier this week, more than 100 leading organizations including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and Oxfam said that famine is widespread across Gaza. Yet, the humanitarian situation on the ground is unlikely to improve. US-sponsored ceasefire talks in Doha failed after Washington withdrew, saying Hamas was not acting 'in good faith.' 'France's recognition of Palestine sends a signal to Israel that it is paying a political price among its allies for its actions in Gaza,' said Martin Konecny, who runs the European Middle East Project in Brussels. 'It also counters the Israeli effort to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state.' It is also unlikely that such move would have any legal knock-on effect, including on trade relations with Palestine. But Konecny said it could be used in court procedures in the future, at the International Criminal Court or national courts 'where this argument could play a role.' 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Add to that, President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017, prompting the US embassy to move there from Tel Aviv. The two-state solution advocated by Macron seems highly symbolic and unfeasible as things stand on the ground. On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also slammed Macron's move to recognise a Palestinian state, calling it a 'reckless decision' that 'only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace.' By contrast, many EU governments already support a two-state solution but argue that an official recognition of Palestine should go hand in hand with a long-term solution to the conflict in the Middle East. 'We can no longer accept massacres and famine,' Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani told Ansa, the country's press agency on Friday. 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But the EU is far too divided on the issue. Earlier this month, the EU's foreign affairs ministers decided to delay agreeing on a list of 10 options to respond to Israel's action in Gaza during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. They also agreed to 'keep a close watch' on Israel's compliance with a recent agreement to improve humanitarian aid access into Gaza. Last but not least, a shift in position would need to come from Germany, a country that has so far been governed by the so-called 'Staatsraison,' a sense of responsibility towards Israel which comes from the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust. So far, Germany has no plans to follow in on Macron's footsteps in the short term. On Friday, Stefan Kornelius, a government spokesman told German media that Germany continues to regard the recognition of Palestine as "one of the final steps on the path to achieving a two-state solution." 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