UK delegation to Berlin engage on foreign policy concerns and growing cooperation
This first BGIPU outward visit of the new Parliament saw a small, balanced group of four parliamentarians plus the wonderful Mathilde Ollivo of the BGIPU travel to Berlin for a series of high-level meetings at the Bundestag as well as visits to the Bundesrat, British Embassy and British Council. Given that the Prime Minister and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz had re-affirmed British-German relations in a declaration barely two weeks earlier, this visit could scarcely have been more timely, providing as it did an opportunity to have bilateral parliamentary discussions not just with the UK Friendship Group (the Bundestag’s equivalent of the APPG for Germany) but also with members of several key committees.
On the first day the Delegation comprised Chris Law MP (SNP), Phil Brickell MP (Lab), Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Con) and Baroness Smith of Newnham (Lib Dem), reflecting a good balance of gender, newer and more experienced members and spanning the spectrum of the main parties in Westminster. Unfortunately, our Delegation leader had to go back to Westminster early on the second day due to parliamentary business. This ensured that we were kept on our toes keeping up with the packed programme of meetings that the IPU had arranged, and we were enormously grateful to have a strong presence from the British Embassy at many of the events we attended.
The visit started with lunch at the British Embassy, hosted by the newly arrived Ambassador, Andrew Mitchell. Along with members of his team, we heard about current developments in German politics and, of course, in British-German relations, with the prospect of a new bilateral treaty a key element of this discussion as well as many others over the ensuing two days.
The British Council was next to welcome us to their offices where students can sit English language exams, the famous IELTS. Yet, if the British Council is renowned for teaching and examining English, its contribution to British soft power goes much further than English language, seeking to ‘promot[e] UK higher education and supporting its internationalism’. It also fosters cultural relations, with Germany a ‘super priority country’ post-Brexit. The UK-Germany Cultural Commission has been re-established to help strengthen these relations, and both cultural ties and education may appear in anticipated UK-Germany treaty.
It was perhaps fitting therefore that our first meeting in the Bundestag was with the Cultural Committee. The loss of Erasmus was raised by members of that committee and, indeed, the importance of youth mobility was a recurring theme during our visit. We heard that the BBC and Deutsche Welle had worked well together in the past and that alongside other western media outlets they had broadcast to try to help strengthen democracy in Turkey. We also had a very interesting meeting with the Digital Committee, where Baroness Owen briefed our German interlocutors about her Private Member’s Bill on Deep Fake, a topic that was of considerable interest to members of the Bundestag.
Our meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee covered a rather wide range of issues, including defence expenditure, the dangers of Russia and Iran, and problems over the JCPOA (or ‘Iran nuclear deal’) as well as support for Ukraine. There was also a desire to reinstate school visits, also expressed by the European Affairs Committee (EAC). Members of the EAC felt that the UK and EU should work more closely together, with one member stressing the importance of supporting the ‘liberal system in an era of authoritarianism’. Meanwhile, the EAC felt it was always good to have bilateral meetings with the UK, even outside the EU. Shared problems of deindustrialisation and the challenge of climate change were discussed. The economic situation in the Eastern/Neuer Laender was a particular issue, although we were reminded that we should not consider them as a homogenous whole; some parts, especially around Berlin are thriving. Finally, the economic and international came together in discussions on defence, where we explored questions surrounding the defence industrial base and issues of NATO standards.
In addition to the formal meetings in the Bundestag, the delegation had a highly informative meeting at the State Representation of Baden-Wurttemberg and the Bundesrat (Federal Council), which we left far more knowledgeable about Germany’s federal structures and the ‘eternal institution’ of the Federal Council. We also had the chance to visit the library of the Bundestag and explore the architecture of the Reichstag building. And we even had the chance to grab a selfie with Chancellor Scholz at the Hamburg Representation’s summer event.
Seventy-five years since the German Basic Law was established and the federal parliament was created, it is clear that we have strong allies with whom it would be desirable to foster stronger bilateral relations on a parliament-to-parliament basis going beyond the APPG-Friendship group structures and meeting with our counterparts more, in addition to the framework provided by the IPU.
Delegation with the British Ambassador and their team.
Pictured with the German IPU Delegation.
Delegation with Dr George Kleeman, Deputy Secretary General of the Bundesrat.
Delegation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
