The wide-ranging treaty, which was signed by prime minister Keir Starmer and new German chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday (17 July), will see the creation of a joint taskforce to “address the barriers” to establishing long-distance rail services between the UK and Germany, including the implementation of border and security controls.
German authorities are also planning to allow UK passport holders to use e-gates at its borders. This will initially be available to frequent travellers by the end of the summer and then be extended to all UK visitors to Germany “as soon as possible”. UK passport holders have not been able to use e-gates at German ports since Brexit.
