UK and Germany exchange treaty documents and set out security and technology plans
Andy Burnham and Friedrich Merz completed an exchange of Kensington Treaty ratification documents in Berlin, alongside plans for security, industry, quantum research and space cooperation.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz exchanged Kensington Treaty ratification documents in Berlin on 8 October 2026, the two governments said. Their joint statement also set out plans for closer cooperation on hybrid threats, industrial technology, quantum research and space. The exchange marks a formal step for a treaty signed last year; several of the measures announced alongside it still await meetings or further agreements.
The Independent reported that Burnham arrived at the Federal Chancellery for his first face-to-face meeting with Merz and that the leaders were expected to confirm a security partnership. A photograph accompanying its report showed them exchanging treaty documents. The subsequent joint statement says they finalised ratification through that exchange.
What the Kensington Treaty exchange confirmed
The Kensington Treaty was signed in London in July 2025. The UK government describes it as a framework covering a broad bilateral relationship and cooperation on shared challenges. The Independent's report at the time said then-prime minister Keir Starmer and Merz signed it on 17 July, with migration, trade and security among the areas covered. Thursday's document exchange is the new development, rather than a new signing of the treaty.
The joint statement sets out specific areas in which the governments say they intend to work together. It does not provide a complete timetable for putting the treaty into practice or measure the effects of these announcements. The dates it does give concern a planned technology roundtable later this autumn and government consultations targeted for early 2027.
How the UK and Germany plan to address hybrid threats
The governments announced a partnership intended to share information and coordinate action against cyberattacks, sabotage and threats to critical infrastructure. The UK account says the partners aim to monitor, deter and disrupt hostile activity and strengthen resilience. These are stated aims: the announcements do not identify an operation carried out under the partnership or show that it has already prevented an attack.
The UK government singles out Russia as a particular concern in its account of hybrid threats. That characterization does not attribute any specific attack to Russia. Burnham said attacks on infrastructure, businesses and democracies can reach people's homes and workplaces, and said Britain and Germany were joining forces to find, expose and disrupt such activity.
The Independent also described the planned partnership as a response to sabotage, cyberattacks and other hybrid threats. Its report said the leaders were expected to discuss support for Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and disrupted trade routes. The UK government's account likewise listed those subjects for discussion; the joint statement does not present them as fresh agreements from the meeting.
Industrial technology, quantum funding and space plans
The joint statement announces an Industrial Tech Corridor intended to link technology scale-ups in the two countries with industrial demand. It says the initial emphasis will be on artificial intelligence and other high-value industrial applications. A first roundtable, bringing together selected company executives, AI scale-ups and senior officials, is planned for later in autumn 2026. The statement does not report a completed project or commercial result from the corridor.
The governments also said their financial backing for quantum technology research and development would increase to a total of €19.5 million. According to the joint statement, five selected projects will receive additional grants, bringing the number of funded projects to ten. It does not name the five projects, give individual grant amounts or specify when their work will be delivered.
On space, the governments intend to deepen cooperation spanning civil, commercial, security and defence interests. They say they will work toward a memorandum of understanding at government consultations in early 2027. The statement also points to closer work on launch and assured access to space, including SaxaVord Spaceport, but gives no operational timetable or quantified effect for that work.
Burnham and Merz convened a Regional Growth Forum with senior business leaders and agreed to develop a deeper regional dialogue involving local and regional stakeholders in 2027. That gives another route for businesses and regions to participate in the relationship, although the statement reports no resulting investment figure. The next dated steps are the technology roundtable planned for this autumn and the consultations envisaged for early 2027.
Sources and context
- Joint UK-Germany Statement - Berlin, 8 October 2026Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street / GOV.UK
- UK and Germany launch joint-partnership to counter sabotage and cyber attacksPrime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street / GOV.UK
- Burnham and Merz set to confirm security pact to counter hybrid Russian threatsThe Independent
- Starmer and Merz sign biggest UK-German treaty since WW2 with deals on migration, trade and securityThe Independent
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