On January 1, 2021, the Eupean Union lost its third-largest member (in terms of population). Since the United Kingdom left the EU, relations between Germany and the United Kingdom have changed. Economic cooperation has become more difficult, and numerous funding programs for university exchanges have been discontinued. At the municipal level, too, Brexit has affected ties between the two countries and created new hurdles for cooperation.

Brexit is a key reason to intensify municipal partnerships.

Against the background of Brexit, many cities in Germany have expressly declared their willingness to intensify cooperation with British municipalities and to contribute their expertise to shaping future relationships and municipal exchange. There are around 420 town twinning agreements between municipalities in Germany and the United Kingdom, the first of which were concluded in 1947.

The 2030 Agenda, and in particular the topic of sustainable urban development, is also ideal for the exchange of expertise within the German-British partnerships: For example, the municipalities of Lünen and Salford are already exchanging views on structural change, Heidelberg and Cambridge on urban planning and climate protection, and Oldenburg and Kingston upon Thames to localize the 2030 Agenda. An expert exchange with British cities is also conceivable on the topics of combating homelessness, migration and integration as well as vaccination strategies focus.