Keir
Starmer vows to ‘turn a corner on Brexit’ before Germany trip
PM says trip
is part of wider efforts to restore ‘broken relationships’ with EU countries
Peter Walker
in Berlin, Lisa O'Carroll and Kiran Stacey
Tue 27 Aug
2024 22.30 BST
Keir Starmer
has promised to “turn a corner on Brexit” and rebuild productive relationships
with EU member states in advance of a flying visit to Berlin for talks with the
German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, expected to focus on defence and trade.
The prime
minister said the trip was part of wider efforts to restore the “broken
relationships” with European neighbours left by the last government.
It was, he
added, a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset our relationship” with
Europe.
Starmer, who
will head on to Paris on Wednesday to see Emmanuel Macron and attend the
opening of the Paris Paralympics, will also meet German business leaders and
the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in a stopover lasting less than
18 hours.
His attempt
to renegotiate Britain’s European relationships is part of a broader strategy
of taking controversial decisions early on in his term as prime minister and
reap the rewards for them closer to the next election.
Earlier on
Tuesday he gave a hint of tax rises to come in October’s budget, warning it
would be a “painful” fiscal statement. Last week the Guardian revealed that the
chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was considering increasing capital gains tax and
inheritance tax to help close the £22bn shortfall Labour says it inherited.
The
government is also under pressure for its decision to cut winter fuel payments
to 10 million pensioners, and for giving a string of high-ranking civil service
jobs to Labour supporters and donors.
Starmer said
on Tuesday it was all part of a move to fix the British state after what he
called “14 years of rot”.
The talks
with Scholz are also due to focus on migration and asylum seekers, including
discussions on intelligence over unofficial border crossings.
Much of the
focus will be on defence and security, with the UK and Germany to begin
negotiations on a bilateral treaty modelled on a 2010 deal with France signed
by David Cameron, which set out a 50-year plan for defence cooperation.
No 10 said a
British team was scheduled to spend six months on the treaty, with both
countries wanting to sign it in early 2025.
On the issue
of strengthening mutual plans to counter a more aggressive and expansionist
Russia, defence cooperation is one of the EU’s key priorities before Starmer’s
government seeks to negotiate any revised post-Brexit agreement with Brussels.
Germany and
France are the bloc’s main players in defence, with Macron in particular keen
to focus defence procurement within Europe.
In comments
released by No 10 before Starmer left for Berlin on Tuesday, the prime minister
said his government had “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset our
relationship with Europe and strive for genuine, ambitious partnerships that
deliver for the British people”.
He said: “We
must turn a corner on Brexit and fix the broken relationships left behind by
the previous government. That work started at the European Political Community
meeting last month, and I am determined to continue it, which is why I am
visiting Germany and France this week.
“Strengthening
our relationship with these countries is crucial, not only in tackling the
global problem of illegal migration, but also in boosting economic growth
across the continent and crucially in the UK – one of the key missions of my
government.”
Starmer saw
Scholz and Macron at the European Political Community gathering at Blenheim
Palace, as well as at the Nato summit in Washington. No 10 said this week’s
meeting would be the PM’s fifth with the German chancellor since Labour won the
UK election, and his fourth with the French president.
Sources in
Germany said the agreement with the UK could also partly mimic a longstanding
deal Berlin has with France, which covers a series of bilateral issues, but
avoids EU-centred subjects such as trade.
The
Franco-German cooperation treaty signed in Aachen in 2019 also includes joint
cultural and digital programmes and an expansion of an existing youth mobility
programme to include young people with special needs. Last week, Downing Street
explicitly ruled out joining any youth mobility schemes as part of a revised
agreement with the EU.
Sourcing
defence contracts in the UK may also be an option – last year the German
ministry of defence signed a contract with a Dutch shipyard as one of the main
contractors for naval vessels.
Sources in
Germany said Scholz had already made his desire to strengthen relations with
the UK known and he would want to “build on this quickly” particularly with
anything that could help inter-country trade, damaged by Brexit.
One German
source said Scholz, who faces a potentially perilous federal election next
year, would be keen to exchange tips with a leftwing leader who just won a
landslide victory. “They are two socialists; they are also two technocrats;
they will want to learn from each other,” the source said.
As part of
the trade-based elements of the trip, Starmer will meet Christian Bruch, the
chief executive of Siemens Energy, and Armin Theodor Papperger, chief executive
of Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest defence company.
While brief,
Starmer’s schedule in Germany will be packed, including a military guard and,
after the talks with Scholz, a joint press conference with the chancellor.
After
leaving for Paris on Wednesday, the PM was due to attend the opening ceremony
of the Paralympics, and attend a reception alongside Macron and others at the
Élysée Palace. In France he was also scheduled to meet French business leaders.
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