The UK and Germany have launched a partnership to strengthen cooperation against cyber attacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats, as the two countries deepen collaboration on technology, security and economic growth.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the initiative during talks in Berlin, committing both governments to work more closely to identify, monitor and disrupt hostile activity targeting critical infrastructure, businesses and democratic institutions.
The partnership will see the UK and Germany share intelligence and coordinate action against cyber attacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats.
There will be a particular focus on activity linked to hostile states, including Russia. The governments said the agreement aims to strengthen resilience while reducing the ability of hostile actors to operate across Europe.
The agreement forms part of a wider programme of cooperation between the two countries covering science, technology, defence and economic growth.
Alongside the security partnership, the leaders discussed closer collaboration on innovation and regional investment, convening a UK-Germany Regional Growth Forum with business leaders from both countries to explore industrial partnerships and investment opportunities.
The announcement also builds on the Kensington Treaty, formally ratified this week, which commits the UK and Germany to closer cooperation across science, technology, defence, security and economic development.
The UK government said the cyber partnership complements domestic measures to strengthen national resilience, including plans to establish a National Centre for Information Defence to detect and counter hostile state-backed information campaigns, disinformation and AI-generated deepfakes targeting UK interests.
Germany is the UK’s second-largest trading partner and contributes around £155 billion to the UK economy.
Prime Minister Andy 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. Security and growth go hand in hand, and both must be felt in every town and city in our two countries.”
