UK and Germany to sign historic defense pact

21 October, 2024 Great Britain and Germany will sign a historic defense agreement The United Kingdom and Germany will sign an agreement on the joint military operations and defense partnership, which should provide protection against the Russian threat in Europe. The Times reported on this.

This week, the United Kingdom is set to sign a historic defense agreement covering defense, intelligence sharing, energy, and illegal migration. The agreement is expected to allow the British and German forces to conduct joint military exercises on NATO's eastern border with Russia. It will also allow the two countries to buy more weapons together and lead to closer cooperation in the development and production of next-generation weapons.

Defense Minister John Healey hopes the new deal will strengthen the UK and German defense industries at a time when the West is desperate to boost arms production and replenish its stockpiles after giving Ukraine tens of billions of euros worth of weapons.

Production of 155mm shells at the Rheinmetall plant. Photo from the company's website

Speaking during a two-day NATO summit in Brussels, Healey suggested that the deal with Berlin would be the most significant bilateral agreement the UK had concluded since David Cameron's deal with France in 2010. "It was considered the biggest foreign policy deal that David Cameron made when he signed the Lancaster House agreement with France.

He did it six months after the election. Within four months after this election, we will conclude a Lancaster House-style agreement with the Germans," he said. The Lancaster House agreement committed the UK and France to significantly closer relations, military cooperation, including the nuclear warhead tests and the joint military operations.

Healey and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the NATO Summit in Brussels, October 18, 2024. Photo credits: ROSIE HALLAM

Sources noted that the British politicians viewed the new agreement as "the first steps" toward a defense treaty with the European Union, which was expected to be signed this year. The establishment of closer military and security ties between the UK and the EU will allow the UK to ensure appropriate interaction with the European countries, bypassing the North Atlantic Alliance, which may face a crisis after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

In addition, the cooperation with the EU will allow Ukraine to focus on security issues in Europe, while the United States is increasingly shifting its attention to China and the Asia-Pacific region.