Thread by @Mylovanov

Europe unites amid U.S. protectionism and post-Brexit rifts.

NYT: Germany and the UK will sign a sweeping deal on July 18 covering defense, migration, energy, and trade — treating a threat to one as a threat to both (including China and Russia).

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The defense pact builds on a 2024 agreement: joint military drills and weapons co-development.

Now it goes further.

Britain and France just agreed to coordinate nuclear arsenals.

Germany has no nukes, but it is now the #3 military supplier to Ukraine.

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Merz has pledged 3.5% of Germany’s GDP to defense by 2029 — the biggest military rearmament since the Cold War.

This comes as Russia escalates in Ukraine and Trump pressures NATO to spend more.

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The UK-Germany deal, nicknamed a “friendship contract”, also targets post-Brexit friction:

- easier UK-Germany travel for schoolchildren and tourists
- new anti-trafficking efforts
- closer scientific and rail links

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Macron just signed a UK deal to send 50 Channel-crossers back weekly in exchange for 50 vetted asylum seekers.

Now Merz and Starmer follow up with joint migration enforcement in the new pact.

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Unlike Macron, Merz gets no royal carriage or state banquet.

But the symbolism is clear: Starmer and Merz are building a strategic European core.

Both are new leaders in polarized systems. Both back Ukraine. Both want Europe to act, not wait for Washington.

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Source: nytimes.com/2025/07/17/wor…