Germany news: UK's Burnham, Merz to talk security in Berlin

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• Germany and the UK are to launch a new security partnership as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Berlin
• The UK leader and Chancellor Friedrich Merz will also discuss support for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East
• President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is to be welcomed with military honors at the Arc de Triomphe at the start of a state visit to France
• The German parliament is to discuss a planned reform of the tax system that has caused heated debate within the coalition government

This is a roundup of the top news from and about Germany on Thursday, October 8, 2026:

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Skip next section UK's Burnham to meet with Merz in Berlin

October 8, 2026

UK's Burnham to meet with Merz in Berlin

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is to visit Berlin on Thursday for his first face-to-face meeting with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, during which the two leaders will launch a new UK-Germany joint security partnership.

The partnership aims to counter sabotage, cyberattacks and other hybrid threats by enhancing information-sharing and establishing coordinated monitoring, deterrence and disruption capabilities.

The initiative comes as Europe is faced by a multitude of hybrid security threats from various adversaries, especially Russia.

Ahead of the visit, Burnham said: "Attacks on our infrastructure, our businesses and our democracies are not a distant threat."

 "They reach into people's homes and workplaces, and they are designed to make us weaker and more divided," he continued.

 "Britain and Germany are joining forces to find, expose and disrupt this activity."

The two leaders are also to discuss support for Ukraine as it faces the ongoing Russian invasion, as well as the conflict in the Middle East and the economic disruption it has caused.

They will also convene a UK-Germany Regional Growth Forum.

The platform aims to bring together British and German chief executives in a bid to promote investment and strengthen industrial partnerships between the two countries.  

https://p.dw.com/p/5NwTT

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

October 8, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

The DW newsroom in Bonn bids guten Tag to all its faithful readers!

In another sign of growing renewed UK rapprochement to the European fold years after Brexit, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is visiting Berlin to launch a joint UK-German security partnership.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is also off to the neighbors with a trip to France that he sees as a kind of "farewell visit to a really committed European and good friend," President Emmanuel Macron, who, like Steinmeier, is nearing the end of his final term in office.

And the German parliament, or Bundestag, is to discuss a reform of the tax system that aims to benefit families and those on lower incomes.

Read on for more on these and other stories in our blog dedicated to all things German.