UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are set to sign a landmark Anglo-German treaty in London on July 17, pledging mutual defense assistance in the event of an armed attack, Bloomberg reported.
The treaty is the most significant bilateral pact between the two nations since 1945, according to Politico.
The agreement, described by Bloomberg as part of a broader reset in ties, reflects growing concerns across Europe over Russian military aggression and doubts about the U.S. commitment to NATO under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Though the treaty reinforces existing NATO obligations, officials from both governments emphasized it is not a substitute for the alliance's Article 5 collective defense principle.
The accord, to be signed during a ceremony at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, is based on groundwork laid by Starmer and Merz's predecessor Olaf Scholz during a 2023 meeting in Berlin. The treaty marks a deepening of post-Brexit relations and growing strategic alignment between London and Berlin.
One of the key components of the deal is a joint pledge to deliver a new long-range missile system, the Deep Precision Strike capability, within the next decade. The system, with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles), is expected to drive substantial industrial investment into European defense sectors.
Although nuclear weapons are not explicitly mentioned in the text, the deal carries heightened importance for Germany, which lacks its own nuclear arsenal and relies on the deterrent umbrella of the U.S. and Europe's two nuclear states — the UK and France.
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