German Chancellor Merz Meets UK PM Burnham in Berlin as Bilateral Treaty Takes Effect

The timing matters more than the meeting itself: the friendship treaty entering into force gives the Merz–Burnham talks a concrete anchor, turning a first courtesy visit into the start of an institutionalized bilateral track. Both sides framed the agenda around security, economic policy and shared European challenges, which signals that this relationship is being positioned as a complement to, not a substitute for, broader EU–UK arrangements. The open question is whether the treaty's entry into force produces visible joint work on security and economic cooperation, or remains largely symbolic.