UK-Germany treaty: Sir Keir Starmer hails 'once in a generation' agreement but rules out youth mobility scheme

The Prime Minister met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, and the pair revealed they hoped to conclude the agreement by the end of the year.

Sir Keir said the leaders had agreed “the substance, ambition and pace of” the treaty today, and confirmed it would include “trade, economy, defence and many more issues”. The Labour Prime Minister claimed the agreement would deliver “for working people in Britain and Germany”.

Germany is the UK’s second largest trading partner in the world, and it appears Sir Keir wants a wider pact compared with the one David Cameron signed with France in 2010. He said there would be a focus on tackling illegal immigration and cracking down on smuggling gangs, tackling climate change and providing defence support to Ukraine.

But Sir Keir declined that this closer pact would be going back on the Leave vote in the EU referendum. He said at a press conference that the treaty marked “a reset with Europe, a reset with the EU”. 

That does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or the customs union,” Sir Keir said. “But it does mean a closer relationship on a number of fronts including the economy, including defence, including exchanges.”

He also dampened speculation about the possibility of a youth mobility scheme, which pro-EU campaigners have been calling for. This would allow young people from the UK to travel and work unimpeded in Germany and Europe, and vice versa.

An agreement on youth mobility has been suggested by Brussels and could be a key demand in any negotiations. Brexiteers see this as a step towards the restoration of free movement and Sir Keir said he had “clear red lines” ahead of talks with the EU on the future relationship.

He told reporters: “We do not have plans for the youth mobility scheme, but we do have plans for a closer relationship between us and the EU.” Mr Scholz said: “We want to create good relations between the UK and the European Union, it can become better day by day, and we all share an interest.”

There was “reason to do everything in our power to improve relations between both countries but also the UK and the European Union”.

Following his engagements in Berlin, Sir Keir was heading to Paris for the start of the Paralympics and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, where he will continue to pursue his reset agenda.