PM meeting with Chancellor Scholz of Germany: 24 April 2024
Joint understanding following the meeting of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today [24 April 2024].
Germany and the UK are close and longstanding Allies and strategic partners in securing a peaceful, stable and secure Europe. Our longstanding friendship is based on shared history, common values, and mutual interest. We have a shared vision of Euro-Atlantic security.
Euro-Atlantic security
In the face of the threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security, our ability to deter and defend must remain credible. Our commitment to NATO and the security of all Allies is unshakable.
To this end, it is important that we further strengthen the European contributions to NATO, including in the area of deterrence and through increased contributions and continued investments. This includes our respective lead nation roles in the Baltic countries. We will strengthen our presence also through joint exercises. We remain jointly committed to NATO-EU co-operation. For Germany, its membership of the European Union remains a key reference point and it supports cooperation between the EU and the UK.
We have agreed to deepen our immediate defence cooperation including in the area of operational and industrial cooperation and further advance our capabilities and the interoperability of our armed forces.
Together Germany and the UK will jointly acquire, assess and optimise the Remote Controlled Howitzer 155mm wheeled artillery system (RCH 155). This will build on our wide-ranging existing cooperation, including our ongoing cooperation on BOXER which we will further develop.
We also intend to promote the Eurofighter/Typhoon aircraft, including through jointly modernising our fleets and cooperating on exports.
We will also develop our cooperation in Air Defence, including through the European Sky Shield Initiative, the DIAMOND Initiative, and through NATO Multi-National Procurement Initiatives.
We have discussed efforts to strengthen the European defence industrial base, to which Germany and the UK contribute significantly, including through the framework of OCCAR. Germany supports the UK joining the German-French-Spanish agreement on export control.
We will coordinate our respective deployments and activities in the Indo-Pacific, with our air forces conducting joint exercises in the region later this year.
We have decided to establish a task force, reporting back by the summer, to develop a structured and enhanced framework for our bilateral security and defence cooperation. This will build on our 2018 Joint Vision Statement, and existing cooperation across Military, Industrial, Cyber, and Defence and Security policy.
Ukraine
Germany and the UK unequivocally condemn Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and stand together by Ukraine’s side. Our common goal remains to ensure that Ukraine prevails against Russia’s aggression. We do not seek confrontation with Russia.
We are the two largest European providers of military support for Ukraine. Together we are committed to continuing our unwavering support to Ukraine for as long as it takes in order to help Ukraine to defend itself.
Germany and the UK were two of the first countries to sign long-term bilateral security agreements with Ukraine, delivering on the commitment of G7 and further partners made in Vilnius.
Our support is designed for the long term and based on Ukraine’s urgent as well as long term needs in the fields of security and resilience. We advocate for a discussion with the aim of agreeing among Allies and Partners on the level of military support to Ukraine in relation to respective economic strength.
We welcome the decisions by the US Congress to support Ukraine with over $60bn in additional assistance in 2024.
The focus of our immediate support lies on air defence, drones, artillery, ammunition, fortifications and training. Today we have agreed on coordinating and intensifying our efforts and evaluating potential for joint projects including respective training. In particular, we will cooperate on our support of Ukrainian helicopters, including armament, maintenance and training.
The UK and Germany will work together to maximize the effect of the Immediate Action on Air Defence initiative and the International Fund for Ukraine. We will seek to increase joint ventures and investment in defence maintenance and production to further strengthen Ukraine’s military industrial base.
We are committed to working together and through the G7 to apply significant pressure on Russian revenues from energy and other sectors, enforcing sanctions, tackling sanctions evasion and exploring options by which immobilized Russian sovereign assets could be made use of to support Ukraine, consistent with our respective legal systems and international law.
Energy Security
The UK and Germany have led the way on divesting Europe from Russian hydrocarbons and in developing alternative sources of supply.
Germany and the UK are close partners in fostering the energy transition, industry and transport decarbonisation, renewable energy, and hydrogen development, in particular from renewable sources. Building on our energy and climate partnership we have agreed on a feasibility study for H2 exports from the UK to Germany.
We will cooperate to produce renewable energy from the North Sea, including offshore wind and renewable hydrogen and we will take necessary steps to secure our off-shore critical infrastructure.