UK-Germany landmark agreement to help smash smuggling gangs and boost defence exports

Brits and Germans alike will benefit from a closer partnership on the issues that matter most to them, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to host Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a comprehensive visit to London today (Thursday 17 July) to revamp the UK-Germany friendship and sign a first of its kind Bilateral Friendship and Cooperation Treaty.

Alongside the Treaty, Germany is expected to make a landmark commitment to make it illegal in Germany to facilitate illegal migration to the UK with the law change to be adopted by the end of the year. 

The change will give law enforcement the tools they need to investigate and take action against warehouses and storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal dangerous small boats intended for illegal crossings to the UK. This will bolster efforts to prosecute those involved in smuggling and support the dismantling of the criminal networks driving unacceptable and unlawful journeys through Europe. 

This significant and long-awaited step is further evidence that the Prime Minister’s approach to working more closely with our European partners is bearing fruit, and demonstrates progress on delivering the Joint Action Plan on Irregular Migration agreed with Germany last year. Through increased cooperation between UK and German law enforcement bodies we are expanding efforts to tackle people smuggling and bring criminal networks to justice. In the last 18 months the NCA has worked with partners across Europe to seize more than 600 boats and engines, with this change expected to drive that number up further.

It will also complement bolstered UK efforts to smash the criminal gangs responsible for dangerous, illegal journeys to the UK via small boats, through the game-changing pilot returns agreement reached with France last week, and the continued work upstream of the Border Security Command to disrupt and deter criminal smuggling networks.  

The new Treaty will detail closer collaboration on issues ranging from migration and security to business, commercial and infrastructure links. This joint commitment to pursue a range of ambitious projects demonstrates how closer partnerships with our trusted allies will help deliver the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

“The progress we are making today is further proof that by investing in our relationships with likeminded friends and partners, we can deliver real change for working people.  

“The Treaty we will sign today, the first of its kind, will bring the UK and Germany closer than ever. It not only marks the progress we have already made and the history we share. It is the foundation on which we go further to tackle shared problems and invest in shared strengths. 

“Chancellor Merz’s commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome. As the closest of allies, we will continue to work closely together to deliver on the priorities that Brits and Germans share.”

Deepening our security and defence cooperation is also high on the agenda, with the leaders set to discuss their strong shared support for Ukraine. 

Building on the landmark Trinity House Agreement on Defence signed in October, the leaders will unveil a new agreement to boost world-class UK defence exports such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets, with the two countries set to pursue joint export campaigns for jointly produced equipment. The agreement is likely to lead to billions of pounds additional defence exports in the coming years – excellent news for the UK economy and thousands of highly skilled defence industrial workers. 

The leaders are also set to make a new commitment to deliver their new Deep Precision Strike capability in the next decade. The rapid development of this capability will safeguard the British public and reinforce NATO deterrence, while boosting the UK and European defence sectors through significant industrial investment. The new capability is set to have a range of over 2,000 km, and will be among the most advanced systems ever designed by the UK. 

The Treaty also includes the establishment of a new UK-Germany Business Forum in order to improve business and investment relationship between the UK and Germany, with trade between the two countries already accounting for 8.5% of all UK trade and supporting almost 500,000 jobs. This is further illustrated by a series of commercial investment announced today worth more than £200 million and creating more than 600 new jobs. 

One such example is German defence tech company, STARK, which has announced a landmark investment in the UK, marking its first production expansion outside of Germany. The move will create over 100 highly skilled jobs in the UK within the first year, including through STARK’s new 40,000 square feet facility in Swindon.

Mike Armstrong, Managing Director of STARK UK, said: 

“The UK and Germany are world-leaders in new technology that will define the battlefields of the future. We need rapid and scalable production to protect our people, defend our sovereignty and deter aggression. That means resilient supply chains stretching across Europe. 

“That is why STARK has chosen the UK as our first production location outside of Germany – taking advantage of the vast technological, industrial and defence expertise that exists here to create AI-powered, unmanned systems to defend Europe and NATO.”

Other announcements from German companies in the UK today include:

• Conversational AI firm Cognigy plans to invest £50 million in the UK, expanding its team from 13 to 150.
• AI ESG platform osapiens plans to invest £30 million in the UK, creating 150 high-skilled jobs.
• Siemens Energy is creating 200 new jobs as well as 100 new apprentices and graduates starting this autumn.
• Venture Capital fund, HV Capital, has the ambition to deploy around £150 million in the UK as part of their next fund generation.