UK-German Relationship
In Berlin Starmer received the best treatment, with a military band at the welcome ceremony and Germany’s president hailing the beginning of a new chapter. But this trip is the culmination of several years of quiet diplomacy between Labour and Scholz’s colleagues. Anyone wondering what the defence pact will look like need only read last year’s report by Ed Arnold published by the defence think tank Rusi and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the German foundation associated with the SPD. Their “2030 road map for enhanced co-operation” envisages regular talks between ministers, much closer defence industry links and for Britain to involve Germany and Poland in the ten-member Joint Expeditionary Force of northern countries. John Healey, now defence secretary, wrote a glowing foreword.
