By Andreas Keeler
Berlin (Dow Jones) – By a decision on the initiative of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, the Federal Council is committed to intensifying German-British relations. According to his own statements, the Council of States decided this at its plenary session in Berlin. There is a close historical relationship between the Federal Republic and the United Kingdom that has lasted for decades. And that will continue regardless of whether the UK leaves the European Union, according to the countries.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom is welcome. Moreover, there is room for further understanding on issues that concern exclusively the bilateral relationship. Exchange between German and British partners will be deepened, not least because of the strong commitment of civil society at the regional and local levels. This exchange must be intensified. City partnerships also played a special role.
The Federal Council called on the Federal Government to pay special attention to promoting youth and student exchanges and developing the “British-German link” into a joint youth organization. It is also important to promote bilateral exchanges of students, trainees and teachers as well as to enhance opportunities for cooperation between universities and scholars. Strengthening partner language acquisition, promoting mutual recognition of school leaving certificates, and creating German-British tools of excellence for research, education and training are of particular interest. In this context, countries called for a new program equivalent to Erasmus+.
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