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UK, Germany Vow To Tackle People Smuggling Gangs

UK, Germany Vow To Tackle People Smuggling Gangs

Britain and Germany signed landmark deals Wednesday to boost defence ties and crackdown on people smuggling gangs on the first official visit to the UK by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Merz had agreed to change German law this year so that small boats used to transport migrants across the English Channel can be seized in Germany.
"It's a clear sign that we mean business in every way," the British premier told reporters. Berlin, though, has yet to confirm when the legislation will be introduced.
Merz's trip came a week after undocumented migrants topped the political agenda during a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron. Merz said he would host Macron in Germany next week.
Starmer and his German counterpart signed the first ever "friendship treaty" between their countries at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, named after Queen Victoria and her German-born husband, before holding talks at the PM's Downing Street office.
Merz said London and Berlin had agreed an exchange programme, in which German and British school children would not need visas to take part.
Speaking in German, he said he believed allowing the "young generation" to get to know each other and their respective countries was a "good basis for the further development of our relations".
Downing Street said the two leaders would also agree to jointly boost exports of military goods such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets, which could lead to "billions of pounds of additional" orders.
They would also commit to developing a precision strike missile with a range of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) in the next decade.
Undocumented migration has become a major headache for Starmer's year-old Labour government, as support for the upstart anti-immigrant Reform UK party soars.
More than 22,500 would-be asylum seekers have arrived on England's southeastern coast by small boat from northern France this year alone.
The prime minister's office said changing the law in Germany would allow police to "take action against warehouses and storage facilities used by migrant smugglers" to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings.
Starmer and Merz also discussed continued support for Ukraine, with both countries expected to play a role in US President Donald Trump's plan to send weapons to Kyiv with financing from other NATO countries.
The visit was Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times. They made the same trip by train to Ukraine just days after Merz took office in early May.
The wide-ranging agreement also known as the "Kensington Treaty" refers to the turbulent security situation faced by both countries, and includes a mutual defence pact.
"There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other," the pact says, with a pledge 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 aims to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including operations on NATO's eastern flank.
Macron's trip to Britain in early July was the first state visit to the country by a European Union head of state since the UK's acrimonious departure from the EU in 2020 following the 2016 referendum.
Merz said that while he personally "deplore(d)" Britain's decision to leave the bloc, the UK, France and Germany were "converging" in policy matters including migration and security.
Britain and Germany also agreed that some UK passport holders would be able to use faster German eGates and they committed to improving train connections.
Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s -- the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany. Downing Street said the two leaders had agreed to boost exports of military goods AFP
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Germany says Ukraine anti-corruption curbs 'hampers' EU path – DW – 07/23/2025
Germany says Ukraine anti-corruption curbs 'hampers' EU path – DW – 07/23/2025

DW

time23 minutes ago

  • DW

Germany says Ukraine anti-corruption curbs 'hampers' EU path – DW – 07/23/2025

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German government denies rift over Israel's conduct in Gaza – DW – 07/23/2025
German government denies rift over Israel's conduct in Gaza – DW – 07/23/2025

DW

time36 minutes ago

  • DW

German government denies rift over Israel's conduct in Gaza – DW – 07/23/2025

The German chancellery insists that the ruling coalition is united in its stance on Israel's actions in Gaza despite differing views. A split appeared after Germany refused to add its name to a 28-country declaration. German Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei on Wednesday dismissed concerns of a rift within Germany's coalition government over its position on Israel. A split emerged after Germany opted not to join dozens of Western countries in signing a condemnation of the "inhumane killing" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Frei, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's top aid, said the coalition was united in its aims regarding Gaza, even if there were divisions over how Germany could achieve them. "There's not even a sheet of paper between the partners," Frei told German broadcaster ZDF. "Of course, you can have different views about the form and the path to a shared goal." On Tuesday, leading figures in the Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partner to Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU), urged the government to join a joint declaration signed by 28 states, including France, Italy and the UK, as well as the European Commission, the European Union's executive branch. It called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and condemned Israel's actions. Germany has so far declined to sign on to the declaration. However, Frei defended the government's stance, saying the declaration lacked clarity in its sequencing of events. "It must be made clear that the starting point of this war was Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, and that Hamas continues to hold hostages," he said. He added that Germany maintains "many channels of contact" with the Israeli government. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Frei emphasized that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza must change," and while Israel has the right to self-defense, protecting civilians is "a legal imperative under international law." Matthias Miersch, the SPD's parliamentary leader, praised the signatory states, including Germany's "closest partners such as France, Canada and Austria," for sending "a clear signal." The countries involved condemned what they called the "drip feeding of aid" to Palestinians in Gaza and said it was "horrifying" that more than 800 civilians had been killed while seeking food and water. "If international law is systematically violated, there must be consequences," Miersch wrote on the platform X. "Germany should join the UK's initiative and not opt out here." "Starving children, destroyed infrastructure, attacks on people seeking help: That goes against everything that international humanitarian law protects," the senior SPD politician said. Reem Alabali-Radovan, Germany's international development minister and an SPD member, said Tuesday she was disappointed by the decision. "The demands in the letter from the 29 partners to the Israeli government are understandable to me. I would have wished for Germany to join the signal sent by the 29 partners," she said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video SPD foreign policy spokesperson Adis Ahmetovic and rapporteur for the Middle East Rolf Mützenich, both senior lawmakers within the party, also called on Germany to join the declaration. They stressed in a joint statement that "the situation in Gaza is catastrophic and represents a humanitarian abyss." German officials have said their stance on Israel is shaped by a unique responsibility, the Staatsraison (reason of state), rooted in the country's Nazi-era history and the Holocaust. They argued they can accomplish more through private diplomatic channels than with public declarations. Merz has said the European Council, the heads of state or government of the European Union, had already issued a joint declaration "practically identical in content to what is expressed in the letter" now circulating. He pointed to the Council's June statement, which deplored the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but was less emotional and bluntly critical of Israel and did not condemn its planned relocation of Palestinians to a so-called "humanitarian city" unveiled earlier this month. "I was one of the first to say very clearly, even in Germany, that the situation there is no longer acceptable," Merz said, pushing back on claims of any split. On Monday, he said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, telling him "very clearly and very explicitly that we do not share the Israeli government's policy on Gaza." "The way the Israeli army is operating there is not acceptable," Merz said. Fractures within the ruling coalition, only in power since May, were already exposed over a dispute about the appointment of a Constitutional Court judge.

World White Hate – DW – 07/23/2025
World White Hate – DW – 07/23/2025

DW

timean hour ago

  • DW

World White Hate – DW – 07/23/2025

Racist and right-wing extremist networks are coalescing, worldwide. They carry out terrorist attacks on minorities and democratic institutions. Authorities in the USA and Europe consider this movement to be more dangerous than Islamist terrorism. Right-wing extremist groups are networked worldwide. Driven by the ideology of white supremacy, they spread their propaganda via digital platforms. Social media and encrypted messaging services such as Telegram make it possible to disseminate content in real time and recruit new followers. 18-year-old Payton Gendron killed 10 people, most of them African-Americans, with an assault rifle in a supermarket in Buffalo in the US state of New York. Before committing this crime, he was influenced and then radicalized by right-wing extremist videos posted by British teenager Daniel Harris. Harris has written entire books about his white supremacist beliefs, and published them online. It's a problem with global dimensions: Armed with a machete and Molotov cocktails, a 17-year-old attempted to storm a school in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. He was wearing a swastika armband. These are just a few of the cases documented in the film, which clearly show how dire the threat of right-wing terror has become. Germany is also a flashpoint for right-wing terror, with attacks in Hanau, Halle and Munich. Many perpetrators are inspired by Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and by the Norwegian assassin Anders Breivik, who shot dead 69 young participants at a Labor Party youth camp on the island of Utøya near Olso. Previously, he had detonated a bomb in the government district of Oslo, murdering eight people. He justified his actions in a video and a 1,500-page manifesto that went viral. As with the Australian Tarrant, who also wrote a manifesto entitled 'The Great Replacement', Breivik's message is about the superiority of the white race, which is supposedly being targeted and replaced by migrants. It's a view that is also shared by an increasing number of people outside extremist circles. As a result, hatred and racism are spreading worldwide like a virus. In a major raid in Germany in December 2022, 25 right-wing extremists were arrested, including members of the so-called 'Reichsbürger' or 'Citizens of the Reich' movement, conspiracy theorists, retired military officers and a former member of the Bundestag. According to the German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the group had been plotting to overthrow the democratic system. In this context, UN Secretary-General Guterres spoke of the greatest threat to our democracy and its institutions. Filmmaker Dirk Laabs' research shows that soldiers and veterans pose a particularly great danger - in the USA, France, Germany, Spain and Russia. Former and active soldiers network globally and are potential assassins. Right-wing extremist mercenaries also represent a danger. This group is potentially even more threatening - due to their combat experience, access to weapons and professional networks. WORLD WHITE HATE unveils the parallels and overlaps between these very different right-wing extremist groups. But how can this hatred be countered? How can right-wing terror be stopped? What can be done to protect democratic society, people and state institutions from right-wing terror? Filmed in the USA, western and eastern Europe, the UK, Scandinavia and Brazil, WORLD WHITE HATE charts the development of the threat posed by right-wing terror, a danger that has been underestimated for far too long. It is exacerbated by populist politicians such as Donald Trump and radical right-wing parties. The documentary WORLD WHITE HATE by Dirk Laabs analyzes the mechanisms of radicalization and discusses possible counter-strategies for democratic societies. The central question remains: "How can we win the digital and real battle against increasing violence from the right?' DW English SAT 09.08.2025 – 10:30 UTC SAT 09.08.2025 – 21:30 UTC SUN 10.08.2025 – 04:30 UTC Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8 London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3 San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

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