UK-Germany Defence Agreement Signed

The Trinity House Agreement, which has been signed today, has its foundations in RUSI and FES research conducted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Some of the key ideas underpinning the UK-German defence agreement signed today can be traced to work RUSI undertook with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in the wake of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, we have argued that the war, and the fundamental changes it has signalled for European security, created the necessity and opportunity for stronger UK-German defence and security cooperation, an aspiration frequently articulated in the past, but seldom developed to its full potential.

In May 2023, RUSI and FES published ‘A 2030 Roadmap for Enhanced Cooperation’ a research paper which contained 19 recommendations for strengthening the bilateral relationship. The foreword was jointly written by John Healey MP, then Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, and Nils Schmid MdB, Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs for the SPD Parliamentary Group.

And in September 2024, following the change of government in the UK and a further aggravation in the international security environment, RUSI and FES published an update to our original paper entitled ‘UK-German Defence and Security Cooperation: The growing prospects’.

The Trinity House Agreement will boost the bilateral relationship and European security through increased defence industrial capacity on armoured vehicles and artillery. It also establishes the mechanisms and ambition to further increased cooperation in this area. The German Navy aircraft will be able to operate from RAF Lossiemouth and directly contribute to NATO defence and deterrence activities in Northern Europe, a shared operational objective.

Ed Arnold, our Senior Research Fellow in European Security, remarked:

The UK-German ‘Trinity House Agreement’ is not only an important element of the UK governments ‘reset’ with Europe – it is an elevation of the UK-German defence and security relationship that is far more ambitious than is predecessors.The defence industrial and economic growth foundations of this agreement, alongside the joint policy and operational cooperation, will form a strong pillar of the forthcoming UK-German Treaty which is currently under negotiation and due to be signed by the Prime Minister and Chancellor in the New Year.