The country’s new Labour government is more enthusiastic about forging deeper defense co-operation with European allies than its Conservative predecessor, and moved quickly to sign a cooperation deal with Germany on Wednesday.
As part of a whistle stop tour of Europe, including France, Poland and Estonia over 48 hours this week, British Defense Minister John Healey closed the pact with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius at the Bendlerblock ministry complex in Berlin.
The deal commits both sides to ramp up industrial coordination and joint operations while trailing much more to come. “These visits send a clear message that European security will be this government’s first foreign and defense priority,” Healey said in a statement.
The U.K. and Germany are the top two European contributors to Ukraine when it comes to military aid and the biggest outright spenders on defense, committing €74.9 billion and €66.8 billion respectively in 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Three weeks into his tenure as minister, Healey said the new pact will “kickstart a deep, new defense relationship.”
“Objectives set out in Wednesday’s joint declaration … include strengthening U.K. and German defence industries, reinforcing Euro-Atlantic security, improving the efficiency of joint operations, confronting evolving security challenges such as the cyber domain, and supporting Ukraine,” the U.K. defense ministry said.
Back in December, Healey told POLITICO a bilateral defense deal with Germany — along with separate pacts with France and the EU — was a priority for a future Labour government.
