UK PM Andy Burnham meets Germany’s Merz in Berlin, seeking closer EU ties

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has visited Berlin to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Chancellery.

The official purpose of the visit was to ratify a defence co-operation protocol agreed between Merz and Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer. But the visit also centred on the relationship between Burnham and Merz, and between the UK and the European Union.

Burnham has already said he wants a much closer, deeper relationship with the EU, and he pointed to a new summit coming up at the end of this year.

In Merz, Burnham has a colleague who shares the idea of a much closer UK-EU relationship, and Merz’s Christian Democrats are willing to open the doors to the UK. But returning to the EU will not be easy. The French government welcomes the idea of the UK coming back, but not under the conditions that existed before Brexit.

Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane reports from Berlin.

Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe
Follow us on X: https://x.com/AJEnglish
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera
Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/
Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/
Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile

#UK #Germany #AndyBurnham #FriedrichMerz #Brexit #EU #Berlin #AlJazeeraEnglish