Andy Burnham will on Thursday hold talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a potential ally as he attempts to stop Britain being hit by new rules to protect the EU against competition from China and seeks to rebuild ties with the bloc.
In his first visit to an EU capital since becoming prime minister in July, Burnham will hold talks on security co-operation, but officials in London confirmed that industrial policy would also be high on the agenda.
Downing Street said that Burnham would discuss “economic resilience” and policies to “deliver shared prosperity”, using the visit to stress the importance of UK/German industrial co-operation and trade between the UK and EU.
Germany’s support is vital for Burnham, as he prepares to set out “options” for a long-term relationship between the UK and the 27-country bloc, which he said could include a promise at the next election to rejoin the customs union, single market or EU itself.
Emmanuel Macron, French president, and Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, have both said Britain will be welcome back into the EU, and Burnham will hope for a similar endorsement from Merz.
Burnham has said he will discuss Britain’s long-term options ahead of a UK/EU summit, expected on November 20, and then try to forge a national “consensus” ahead of the next election.
The prime minister said last month that the “Made in Europe” policy, which the EU is drawing up to shield the bloc from Chinese competition, risked inflicting “collateral damage” on the UK, including hurting cross-channel supply chains.
Germany has often pressed to include the UK in EU programmes, pushing back against Paris, which contends that such agreements should be reserved for member states only.
Berlin wants to include London in the Made in Europe rules, part of the so-called Industrial Accelerator Act the European Commission is drawing up.
The act will set local content and low-carbon requirements for public procurements and green subsidies. Berlin is advocating for a broad “trade partner” approach.
On Thursday France’s finance minister Roland Lescure told the BBC he wanted Britain to “come all the way” and rejoin the EU. “Come back, any time.”
Asked about French opposition to Britain to being a full member of the Made in Europe programme, Lescure said: “If the UK was part of Europe they would be at the table discussing that right now. Come back and you will be at the table and we can discuss all those things together.”
Another topic of discussion between Burnham and Merz is expected to be whether Berlin could join the GCAP project to build a sixth-generation fighter jet, after Merz chose to terminate the Franco-German project, FCAS.
Both leaders are expected to stress the need for close industrial co-operation to counter hybrid threats from Russia, pledging to act together including information sharing and building resilience against cyber attacks, sabotage and threats to critical infrastructure.
Speaking 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. Britain and Germany are joining forces to find, expose and disrupt this activity.”