Last updated in October 2009
Political relations
Germany and the United Kingdom have close and wide-ranging relations based on mutual trust. There are practically no bilateral problems of note. Relations between the heads of government, who confer frequently, are excellent. This is reflected in the many close contacts between British and German ministers and members of parliament, which are also supported by the political foundations with offices in London (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation). Much consultation and coordination also takes place amongst civil servants. The annual Königswinter Conference, instituted in 1950, offer a major forum for political dialogue between Germany and the United Kingdom.
Economic relations
Germany is the United Kingdom’s most important trading partner, ahead of the United States. For Germany, the United Kingdom ranks fourth, after France, the United States and the Netherlands. Germany has a record of large trade surpluses, with German exports worth EUR 66.7 billion and German imports EUR 44.2 billion in 2008. Exports to the United Kingdom accounted for 6.7 per cent of Germany’s total exports, a slight decline compared with the previous year (7.2 per cent).
Direct investment plays a prominent role in bilateral economic relations. German investment in the UK (e.g. Siemens, Bosch, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Post, Linde, Heidelberg Zement) totalled EUR 68.6 billion in 2006 and has traditionally been higher than British investment in Germany (e.g. BP, Shell, GKN, Terra Firma, Rolls Royce), which was worth EUR 44.8 billion in the same year.
Cultural relations
Cultural relations between Germany and the United Kingdom are close and wide-ranging, encompassing both the public and private/commercial sectors.
German music and visual/performing arts through the centuries play a very prominent role in the United Kingdom, and there is a lively exchange between German and British artists as well as managers and institutions active in this sector. Contemporary German art is shaped by the German artists living and working in the United Kingdom. Conversely, Berlin in particular exerts a great attraction on British artists.
The language barrier remains an obstacle to exchange in the theatre and literature sectors, but occasionally German books are very successful. The bi-annual magazine “New Books in German”, which is supported by the German Embassy in London and the Goethe Institute, helps to draw the attention of publishers in the United Kingdom (and the USA) to new German publications. Every autumn, the Schlegel-Tieck Prize is awarded for outstanding translations. For some years now, German films have enjoyed great success. A German Film Festival is held every year in November. The German creative industries (design, fashion and architecture) are also gaining ground in the United Kingdom.
Youth exchange
The youth exchange office UK-German Connection, set up in 2005 by the British and German Foreign Ministers on the initiative of Queen Elizabeth II and Federal President Köhler, has established itself as a key contact point for all questions relating to school and youth exchanges between the two countries. In 2008 alone, nearly 230,000 teachers, pupils and children used the successful website:
