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.”
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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.
