What’s the meaning of "reset"? That’s the question hanging over the prime minister’s visit to Berlin today. #bbcnews #bbclondon
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00:00What's the meaning of, reset? That's the question hanging over the prime minister's visit to Berlin
00:05today. No one is denying that the mood music is good. Both centre-left leaders who entered
00:11office after long periods of conservative dominance, Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor
00:17Olaf Scholz are comfortable in each other's company. And while Sir Keir has been prime
00:22minister for less than two months, this was their fifth meeting, in part a quirk of the
00:26England football team getting to the final of the European Championships. This was their first
00:32formal meeting, though, it saw the prime minister use the, reset, word which has punctuated practically
00:39every interaction he has had with a European leader since entering office. But perhaps for
00:44the first time, it saw the prime minister begin the work of putting some meat on the bones of
00:49what a reset might look like. Both governments have committed to underscoring the Anglo-German
00:55relationship with a treaty. The low-key Mr Scholz was noticeably enthusiastic,
01:01saying that Germany intended to, take this hand that has been reached out to us.
01:06Two things are especially striking about the leaders' professed ambitions for this treaty.
01:11One is how fast they plan to negotiate it, within six months. The other is how broad
01:17it is intended to be. In his press conference with Mr Scholz this morning, the prime minister
01:22suggested it would cover trade, defence, illegal migration, science, technology, development,
01:29people and culture. Downing Street's formal announcement also referenced collaboration
01:34on energy, supply chains, biodiversity and the environment.