Downing Street reported on Friday that Johnson will receive Merkel at the British prime minister’s country residence in Chequers in southeast England. Then the German chancellor, who resigned in the fall, visited the second. Queen Elizabeth in Windsor.
Angela Merkel is visiting Britain for the 22nd time since she became German chancellor in 2005.
Johnson’s office reported that the British Prime Minister announced the creation of a new Medal of Merit in honor of the German Prime Minister. The £10,000 (over four million forints) prize is awarded annually to scientists working in Britain or Germany who excel in the field of astrophysics. The award is named after Caroline Herschel, a German-born British astrophysicist and one of the pioneers in the field. Caroline Herschel emigrated from Hanover to Britain in 1772 and was the first woman to be regularly paid by the British government for her scientific work.
Merkel will also speak at a virtual meeting of the British government on Friday, the first for foreign leaders since US President Bill Clinton granted the same in 1997.
Downing Street reported Friday that Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel are also expected to agree that from 2022, the British and German governments will hold joint meetings on an annual basis. For Britain, this will be the first such agreement with a foreign country.
Friday’s meeting in Checkers is expected to focus on the relationship between London and the European Union after Britain’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) last year and travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In recent days, there have been unofficial reports in the British press that Angela Merkel is calling for a temporary ban on British tourists entering the European Union due to the spread of the highly contagious delta type of coronavirus in the UK.
Cover image source: Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool / Getty Images
