THE NEW YORK TIMES: The new treaty includes a pledge by both countries to regard a threat against one as a threat against the other, in the latest sign of European nations uniting amid growing instability.
Britain and Germany signed a landmark defense treaty on Thursday, further evidence of how European leaders are drawing together to confront a security landscape scrambled by President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and President Vladimir V. Putin’s relentless assault on Ukraine.
The Anglo-German accord, signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his visit to London, covers energy, economic cooperation and migration, in addition to defense.
It builds on an agreement signed last October, under which the two agreed to cooperate on mutual defense, with joint military exercises and the development of sophisticated weapons.
The treaty includes a pledge by both countries to regard a threat against one as a threat against the other, declaring that they will “assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other.” That echoed language adopted by Britain and France, which pledged last week to more closely coordinate their nuclear arsenals in responding to threats against European allies. » | Mark Landler and Jim Tankersley | Mark Landler reported from London, and Jim Tankersley from Berlin. | Thursday, July 17, 2025
