With the UK leaving the EU, the UK is on the way to repositioning itself in world politics. As with the USA, the Indo-Pacific region plays a central role in this process. The activities of China in particular are being closely monitored: In Washington, US President Joe Biden has adopted a tougher course in dealing with Beijing as a central component of US foreign policy. As a result, the partners from the so-called “Five Eyes Group” are redefining the course. The group, whose secret services exchange all information with each other, includes the USA and Great Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The first visible accent in the shift in the forces of security policy in world politics was recently the establishment of a new arms and military alliance between Australia, the USA and Great Britain (AUKUS).
At the start of the new axis there was great irritation – especially between France and the Anglo-Saxons: Australia canceled a billion-dollar submarine deal with Paris and will in future purchase nuclear-powered submarines from the USA. In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, Jill Gallard, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Germany, explains the background: “Australia has undertaken a reassessment of the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific region encompasses more than just China. There are aspects of economic growth and security aspects to consider. ”AUKUS was“ on the initiative of Australia ”. For Australia “it has been shown that a submarine contract signed with France many years ago no longer meets the requirements of the time.” It was necessary to “recalibrate the contract”. Gallard: “That was a purely contractual decision.” AUKUS is a “purely industrial cooperation in the armaments and security sector.”
NATO remains a cornerstone of common security, said the ambassador. Great Britain makes “the highest financial contributions to NATO in Europe”. Gallard sees Germany at the side of Great Britain on this issue: “We are glad that Germany has made a clear and lasting commitment to NATO.” From London’s point of view, this is particularly important in order not to force the idea of a new EU army , which is being launched mainly from Paris. Gallard: “We do not consider a parallel structure, for example through a European army that is currently under discussion, to be sensible. These are defense resources and it makes no sense from a financial or security point of view to maintain multiple military alliances. Such a development would impose new financial burdens on all states. The NATO member states must first ensure that they meet their financial obligations for the alliance. “
Gallard sees the need for the West to scrutinize its relationship with China: “China is an important economic partner for Great Britain and Germany. But there are also political differences where we have to make it clear that we have a critical view here: This concerns the question of democracy, the question of freedom of expression. “The Brists” are particularly concerned about the changes in Hong Kong and the suppression of the Uyghurs ”. Gallard: “We cannot remain silent about this.”
London is counting on Berlin for the global reorganization: “Germany is one of our most important partners in the world,” said the ambassador. The good relationship “also benefited from a very good personal relationship between our Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Angela Merkel”. How much Angela Merkel is valued in Great Britain is shown by the fact that the Chancellor was received by the Queen on her farewell visit: “It is very rare that the Queen receives someone in a private audience if the visit is not part of a state visit.”
The ambassador sees a solid foundation for a close partnership: “We share the most important common values with Germany, namely parliamentary democracy and freedom of expression.” This also applies if there are differences on the matter. The requests of German parliamentarians and human rights activists to release Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have so far not been heard in London. Assange is sitting in a British maximum security prison and faces extradition to the United States. Ambassador Gallard does not want to make a political statement on this: “It is a matter of a court case, and we do not comment politically on ongoing proceedings.”
Gallard, who took up her post in Berlin six weeks before the Brexit agreement came into force and one week after the first lockdown, is counting on many levels at which the two nations can work together: German federalism and local and regional relations also play a role here plays a major role: “Recently Prime Minister Kretschmann was in London to open the first Baden-Württemberg office in Great Britain. The mayor of Greater Manchester was in the Ruhr region to exchange ideas with German colleagues about common challenges in infrastructure and issues such as traffic calming, cyclists and green cities. “The new conditions in Europe inevitably bring many changes:” Many things, which were previously negotiated at the EU level are now negotiated bilaterally. One can say: The bilateral is back! ”Specifically, regular exchanges between the cabinets are being planned,“ and we have a bilateral friendship treaty with Germany, ”said the ambassador.
Time is of the essence because many issues have remained open since leaving the EU. Five and a half years after the Brexit decision, there has been a fundamental agreement between Great Britain and the EU on issues of trade and cooperation for almost a year. But this agreement must “now be filled with life”. There are bilateral initiatives on many levels for this purpose. Gallard emphasizes one area in particular: “It would be very important for us that the EU’s science program, ‘Horizon’, can run again with British participation. That was actually agreed, but there are technical hurdles that still exist. As you can see in pandemic times, cross-border cooperation in science is of enormous importance. ”British taxpayers are contributing 15 billion euros to this program. Therefore “British researchers should also be able to benefit from it”.
One of the big problems between the EU and the UK is the Northern Ireland issue. The British chief negotiator Lord Frost is “in intensive talks with Brussels and I am confident that there will be a solution,” said the ambassador, who explained: “This is a very concrete and practical problem that cannot only be viewed from an economic perspective. A personal example: A package that I posted in London and wanted to send to Northern Ireland had to be declared as international mail. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved. This leads to delays and delivery bottlenecks. ”There are currently empty shelves for individual goods. For example, there is a shortage of medicines. Gallard: “You have to imagine it this way: suddenly, cancer drugs from Düsseldorf to Berlin are being treated like deliveries from abroad. That also has political consequences. Not least in the case of Northern Ireland, where the peace process is on the brink. “
In addition to Brexit, Corona is of course also a concern for British politics. Dealing with the pandemic is “a constant learning process”. The problem arises that “because of the measures in individual countries and the travel restrictions, many people left the UK during the pandemic and stayed in their home countries”. This “of course also affects numerous people who work in the care professions”.
Entry into Great Britain has generally become more complex. Gallard: “If I travel from Berlin to Great Britain, I also have to test myself after the journey.” These tests are “important so that science can examine whether there are new mutations, whether the genome of the virus has changed” : “With the Delta variant, we saw how quickly a highly contagious variant can develop. We have to have an overview of every single case. “
Gallard is “convinced that the only way out of the pandemic is to get as many people as possible vaccinated”. The United Kingdom is facing specific challenges: “We must now also ensure that the additional admissions into the NHS health system, which can result from a flu epidemic, are effectively managed alongside the coronavirus.” London wants British citizens “still as much freedom as possible grant “. One of the next steps that was decided is to make vaccination mandatory in health professions. This obligation has been in effect in nursing homes since November 11th. Gallard points to a special focus in the strategy: “We made sure that people with a migration background were informed about the vaccination campaign at a very early stage. We know from surveys that there is a higher level of vaccination skepticism in this group. Therefore we have to take special care of this group. “
The linguist Jill Gallard, who speaks excellent German and has already completed several diplomatic posts in Europe, enjoys being in Berlin: “Personally, I think Germany is a great country. I am happy that I can finally travel to the country personally in the wake of the openings after the pandemic. I have already been to Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt and will soon be traveling to Stuttgart, Hanover, Essen and Dresden. “