British Prime Minister Keir Starmer poses with UK Ambassador to Germany Jill Gallard at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on August 27, 2024
Justin Tallis
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Berlin on Tuesday (27) night, his first official visit since taking office last month.
The Labor leader has made it a priority to rebuild trust with his European partners after Brexit and tensions caused by his Conservative predecessor.
In Berlin, Starmer is scheduled to meet the head of the German government, Olaf Scholes, before traveling to Paris, France.
Labour, which won the July 4 general election by a landslide, said during the campaign that it wanted a defense and security agreement with Germany if it won the election.
The new bilateral agreement will take several months to negotiate and should be concluded early next year, Starmer's team noted.
The British government said the aims of the agreement were to improve trade and commerce, deepen security and defense cooperation and strengthen “joint action against illegal immigration”.
Starmer will argue that “we must turn the page on Brexit and mend the broken relationships left by the previous government,” his office said.
The British leader will insist that strengthening ties with Germany and France is “vital” to “not only combat the global problem of illegal immigration, but also boost economic growth.”
Starmer, 61, campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU during the 2016 Brexit vote but has now ruled out a return to the bloc to avoid reopening a divisive chapter in British politics.
However, he advocates renegotiating a new defense pact with the EU and improving the existing trade deal with the bloc's 27 countries.
