Sir Keir Starmer has been handed a Brexit reset boost as allies of Germany’s expected new leader signalled he favours deep defence ties between the UK and EU.
The Prime Minister has made a defence and security pact a key plank of his “reset” of relations with the EU, and used a dinner with the bloc’s leaders last month to call for “industrial collaboration”, seen as a move to open up the continent to British defence firms.
France is believed to be sceptical about how deeply the UK should be involved in Europe-wide defence procurement programmes, which are being viewed with a new degree of urgency after Donald Trump’s signal of American withdrawal from the continent.
But senior politicians in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, said he viewed the British defence industry as an “important asset” for Europe’s security, and stressed the continent must go “beyond the European Union” if it wants strong defence.
Merz’s stance will create pressure within the EU, from one of its leading nations, to bend its rules in specific areas of the Brexit reset, such as a security pact and weapons-buying programmes.
Experts who are close to the centre-right CDU also suggested the EU could relax the rigorous enforcement of its rules that might exclude the UK from deeper defence co-operation, given the geopolitical crisis sparked by Donald Trump.
Its election manifesto called for “closely” involving the UK in a move towards integrating “European armed forces into a defence union in the structures embedded in Nato”. It also pledged to “deepen co-operation” between the EU and Britain, “especially in security and safety matters and defence policy”.
Diplomatic sources indicated that these commitments were likely to survive any coalition negotiations Merz must undertake to form a government in Berlin.
German MEP David McAllister, a CDU ally of former chancellor Angela Merkel, said his party had “always taken a pragmatic approach” to the UK.
McAllister, who chairs the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told The i Paper: “Of course defence and security co-operation, especially in these extremely geopolitical shifting times, that is low-hanging fruit and there is huge readiness on the European side in general, and especially on the German side that we try to coordinate as closely as possible with Britain.”
The MEP – whose father is Scottish – added that this should include Starmer’s desire for “industrial collaboration”.
“We have to step up our defence production, we have to better coordinate our European defence industry, we need to buy more together, invest more together, spend more together, and of course the British defence industry is an important asset.
“This would be a positive opportunity for both sides. On security and defence I think we can really move things forward.”
Günter Krings, a CDU MP, said Merz had a “strong relationship with the UK” and would “have a more pragmatic approach”.
He told a webinar hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany (BCCG) that Merz had made “absolutely clear” that Europe must achieve strategic independence from the US, and that this should include the UK.
Krings added: “If we want to have a strong defence in Europe, it has to go beyond the European Union, we have to include the UK if we really want to make a difference.”
The exclusive webinar was hosted by the BCCG in co-operation with think thank the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which is associated with but independent of the CDU.
Canan Atilgan, from the foundation, said of Merz: “When he talks about Europe, particularly on defence and security issues, he means the UK. So without the UK, in his understanding, there won’t be a real European defence structure.”
Dr Atilgan said there was a trend away from the EU towards a “coalition of the willing” for European defence, due to the EU’s requirement for unanimous agreement.
She suggested this could be modelled on the Weimar+ grouping created this month in response to Trump’s shift of US policy on Ukraine. This group includes the “big five” of Germany, France, Poland, Spain and Italy, plus the UK and the European Commision.
She added: “This is not a mainstream debate yet but if you look at the latest meetings, which included Prime Minister Starmer, this is the direction. Bilateral has never been a problem but to have a broader European approach that reaches beyond the EU is what is important today.”
Dr Atilgan suggested concerns about involving the UK in EU defence procurement structures could be overcome.
She questioned whether the urgency over defence would put pressure on Brussels’s “no cherry-picking” approach to Britain on Brexit: “The EU does not have time or the luxury to put internal rules first. We have passed that already. Europe urgently needs to take action to take a broader European security approach.”
However, the difficulties Starmer may yet face were highlighted by European Parliament Brexit lead Sandro Gozi, in an interview with The i Paper.
The French MEP, seen as an ally of Emmanuel Macron, suggested there needed to be “in-depth” discussions on both the budget contributions the UK would have to make, and “how much we are ready to open our tent”.
The Cabinet Office declined to comment.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is prepared to hold talks with European finance ministers over the UK potentially joining in an EU-wide defence fund, which would use collective debt.
Some in Whitehall believe the plan will not work for the UK as it will leave the country liable for European debt, while the Government believes its spending on defence is more efficient than in the EU.
But the proposal has not been ruled out, and Reeves is set to hold talks on it at the G20 finance ministers meeting in Cape Town.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Obviously, the Chancellor will be having many discussions of the G20. The Treasury has confirmed that she’ll be having discussions, including on defence financing, with her European counterparts at the G20, but I’m not going to get ahead of those discussions.
“More broadly, obviously, we’re focused on our commitment to national security, ensuring we’ve got a military force fit for the future.”
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