London, Thanasis Gavos

In Berlin to meet with Chancellor Olaf Solz the British Prime Minister is today Rishi Sunak.

Announcing the visit, Mr Sunak said it marks a ‘new chapter’ in UK-Germany partnership in the fields of defense and security.

According to Downing Street, the two leaders will announce plans joint production of the RCH 155 artillery system, an initiative that, among other things, will create hundreds of jobs in the two countries.

“The UK and Germany are European powers. Together we are stronger, whether defending against Russian aggression or leading economic growth and technological progress,” the British leader said.

The Berlin meeting will also discuss bilateral cooperation on energy issues, especially renewable sources, as well as dealing with organized migrant smuggling gangs.

The visit to Germany follows Mr Sunak’s trip to Poland, where he announced an increase in UK defense spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, an extra £75bn of funding in depth of six years.

Asked this morning about the announcement, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said the government wanted to ensure the defense industry was “on a war footing” as “we live in a more dangerous world”.

Mr Shapps’ long-time predecessor at the British Ministry of Defense Ben Wallace told Sky News that “one could certainly say we are in the 1930s” in terms of European security risks.

He noted that today there are the additional challenges of terrorism and unconventional forms of war. “I think we’re in a world where the peace that we kind of took for granted from 1991 until now is coming to an end,” added Mr. Wallace.