Security is pulling London and the continent closer again.
Berlin, Germany
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made his first official visit to Germany, meeting Chancellor Friedrich Merz for talks centered on Russian hybrid threats, cybersecurity and the future of Britain’s relationship with the European Union. The symbolism is difficult to miss. Years after Brexit redefined the political distance between London and Brussels, security pressures are steadily rebuilding practical cooperation across the continent. Germany has become one of the clearest points where that convergence is now taking shape.
Burnham and Merz are expected to deepen cooperation on identifying and disrupting sabotage, cyber operations and other forms of hybrid activity attributed particularly to Russia. The urgency has increased after a series of incidents affecting European infrastructure, including a drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport that Berlin has blamed on Moscow. Britain and Germany now want closer intelligence sharing and more coordinated responses to threats that operate below the threshold of conventional war. Hybrid warfare is forcing European governments to think collectively even when their institutional relationships differ.
The bilateral relationship is also being reinforced through the Kensington Treaty, reached in 2025 and focused on defense, security, science, technology and economic growth. The agreement reflects a broader strategic reality: the United Kingdom may be outside the European Union, but it remains deeply embedded in Europe’s security architecture. NATO, intelligence cooperation, energy networks and industrial supply chains continue to bind Britain to the continent in ways that Brexit never fully dismantled.
The political dimension is becoming equally important. Burnham has said Britain needs a clearer long-term relationship with the European Union and has argued that Brexit caused more harm than benefit. He has also left open the possibility of discussing eventual re-entry, although no immediate process has been launched. His comments suggest that the British debate is gradually shifting from whether Brexit happened to what kind of relationship should replace the distance it created.
Germany has strong incentives to encourage that rapprochement. Britain remains one of Europe’s largest military powers, a nuclear state, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a major intelligence actor. At a time when Russian pressure, cyber threats and uncertainty over future U.S. commitments are forcing Europe to strengthen its own capabilities, excluding London from deeper strategic cooperation would carry significant costs.
Burnham’s visit therefore matters beyond bilateral diplomacy. It shows how geopolitics can reshape relationships that domestic politics once pushed apart. Brexit separated Britain institutionally from the European Union, but Russia’s challenge to European security is creating powerful incentives for reconnection.
Geography can survive political separation longer than politics expects.