They said “anything that gets more U.S. weaponry into Ukraine faster is good news,” confirming the U.K.’s support for the plan, in common with Germany, but in contrast to France, which was not on an early list of backers.
Merz and Starmer will be able to pore over the nitty-gritty, such as who pays for what and in which framework, along with more specific details like whether Europeans will buy U.S. weapons to be delivered to the battlefield, or whether they will give Ukraine weapons from existing stockpiles and buy replacements from the U.S.
Limited movement
While the two countries are keen to trumpet their shared goals on defense, other parts of the relationship will be trickier to navigate.
Starmer is keen to discuss efforts to tackle illegal migration whenever he meets foreign leaders — as he did when Emmanuel Macron was in town last week — but joint endeavors in this area could prove limited.
The U.K. wants Germany to ramp up prosecution of smuggling gangs on its turf, although the substance of that plan was already agreed between the two interior ministries last year. Downing Street stressed the necessary changes to German law would now be made by the end of the year.
Von Ondorza said that while Merz was more open than Scholz to making migration “a central pillar” of their interactions, it was “less clear” what Britain and Germany could do to help each other on this front compared with France.