German and British defence ministers will sign a long-awaited agreement on closer military cooperation on Wednesday, ahead of a major bilateral treaty in January as part of Britain’s rapprochement with the EU.
British Defence Minister John Healey had promised his German counterpart Boris Pistorius that he would sign the cooperation agreement within four months of his Labour Party coming to power. The two ministers reaffirmed this commitment at their first meeting in July.
The resulting ‘Trinity House Agreement’ is the first agreement of its kind between the two countries and will be formally signed during Pistorius’ visit to London on Wednesday.
“The Trinity House Agreement is a milestone moment in our relationship with Germany and a major strengthening of Europe’s security,” Healey said in an advance statement, adding that it would move cooperation with Germany’s armed forces to “unprecedented levels”.
The agreement between the ministries includes provisions to link their procurement through greater cooperation in developing new defence products, particularly drones and long-range weapons.
As the two countries plan to permanently station NATO troops in Lithuania and Estonia, they also agreed to conduct joint military exercises and interlink their regional forces.
‘New British orientation towards Europe’
The German Defence Ministry hailed the agreement “as an expression of the new British orientation towards Europe” amid a tense security situation due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The ministries stress that the new joint projects are open to other allies and EU partners, explicitly mentioning France.
Britain’s military is already linked to France through the 2010 Lancaster House Treaties, which the Trinity House Agreement is modelled on, according to Healey.
However, the latter is only a precursor to a comprehensive bilateral security treaty between the UK and Germany that will go beyond defence cooperation. The treaty, which is being negotiated with the participation of the two countries’ leaders, is due to be signed in January of next year, according to the German Defence Ministry.
The UK is seeking to negotiate a similarly comprehensive deal with the EU from next year, according to The Times, which first reported on the ‘Trinity House Agreement’ on Sunday.
Such a deal would cover defence, intelligence sharing, energy and irregular migration.
(Nick Alipour | Euractiv.de)
Source: euractiv.com
