Burnham near Merz: Germany and Great Britain strengthen cyber defense

London. Germany and Great Britain are intensifying their cooperation in combating cyberattacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats. The British government announced this on today's visit by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). In Berlin, the two heads of government will, among other things, bring into force the German-British Friendship Treaty of 2025.

Both countries “commit to a hybrid threat partnership to counter hostile activities that threaten the security and prosperity of our two countries,” Downing Street said. “The hybrid threat posed by our adversaries – particularly Russia – extends across Europe and beyond and threatens our shared security.”

Both nations wanted to weaken “hostile actors” through information sharing and coordination to monitor, deter and disrupt threats, it said. Burnham said: "Attacks on our infrastructure, our businesses and our democracies are not a distant threat. They reach into people's homes and workplaces and are designed to make us weaker and more divided."

The ratification documents for the friendship treaty, the so-called Kensington Treaty, will be exchanged at a ceremony today. With the agreement, the two countries are putting their relations on a new footing six years after Great Britain left the European Union. The 27-page document was signed during Merz's first visit to Great Britain as chancellor in July last year. It is accompanied by a 17-point action plan for deeper cooperation in the areas of science, technology, defense, security and growth.

Burnham was recently the first British head of government since Brexit to speak specifically about the possibility of returning to the EU, but the path to get there would be long even if a decision were made to hold corresponding talks. According to British figures, Germany is the United Kingdom's second-largest trading partner and contributes around 155 billion pounds (equivalent to around 183 billion euros) to the British economy.