To help discourage migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats, the UK will give France over £500 million over the course of three years.
The funding was disclosed at a meeting in Paris between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the UK and President Emmanuel Macron, who also pledged a financial contribution from France.
The funds will be used to hire 500 more officers and build a new detention facility in France, although neither of these projects will be completed until the end of 2026.
To address the issue, the UK intended to give France some £63 million this year.
With the UK committing £120 million in 2023–2024, this new package seems to at least quadruple that sum.
France would increase financing for enforcement as well, but it has not specified by how much.
The Conservatives are allegedly “lurching from one crisis to another with little more than their standard sticking plaster politics,” according to Labour’s shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry.
“Before Rishi Sunak sends even more money to the French government to deal with this situation, he needs to explain what was accomplished by the hundreds of millions of dollars we’ve already provided them and why tiny boat crossings increased despite that.”
Watch live: Paris conference between Sunak and Macron
Exactly how does the UK prevent Channel crossings?
Will the immigration measure get become law?
Mr. Macron applauded the combined efforts made by the French and British teams to lessen small boat crossings.
At a press conference held at the Elysee Palace with Mr. Sunak, he stated that the squad had stopped 30,000 small boat crossings and made 500 arrests in the previous year.
Money would help “put an end to this terrible trade in human life,” according to Mr. Sunak.
“The UK and France working together will ensure that nobody can exploit our systems with impunity,” he continued.
According to Mr. Sunak, under the new agreement reached by the two leaders, 500 additional French law enforcement officials will use “advanced technology” like drones to stop Channel crossings.
Also, the funds will support the construction of a 27th detention facility in France.
The holding facility would enable for the “removal of additional migrants from the French coast,” according to Downing Street.
One of Mr. Sunak’s biggest campaign promises for his administration is to stop the boats.
But if the center is finished on that schedule, it won’t be ready for use until the UK’s next election, which must take place no later than January 2025. Both leaders claimed that the Paris meeting signaled a new phase in Anglo-French ties.
While Mr. Sunak hailed the encounter as a “entente revived,” Mr. Macron called it a “moment of reconnection”.
The French president had no qualms about blaming Brexit for what, in his opinion, had caused the relationship to deteriorate in recent years.
That was a criticism of Mr. Sunak’s three predecessors as UK prime minister and the conflicts they have had with the EU, if you read between the lines of his speech.
The two leaders displayed a strong feeling of camaraderie during their press conference. Mr. Macron addressed “dear” Rishi, who in turn thanked “my ami,” and the session ended with an embrace.
It is evident that this meeting was only the beginning of something more collaborative—a first step, but nothing more. The number of persons attempting to cross the English Channel in small, frequently fragile boats to reach the UK has significantly increased since last year.
This is a domestic political issue for Mr. Sunak.
He declared that addressing tiny boats was one of his goals at the beginning of 2023. In order to keep his promise, he needs to see fewer boats arriving in the UK.
Although he has bigger concerns, Mr. Macron shares the desire to see the movements curbed.
He wants European nations to examine the travel routes that people use to get to western Europe.
Mr. Sunak unveiled a new Illegal Migration Law earlier this week.
According to the proposed measures, anyone found to have entered the UK unlawfully would not only be deported within 28 days but would also be barred from ever entering the country again or applying for British citizenship.
Mr Sunak argues his new approach was “intended to destroy the financial model of the criminal gangs and reduce the pull factors, bringing them to the Channel coastlines”.
Nonetheless, some NGOs and the UN agency for refugees have harshly criticized the measure. It is also possible that legal issues will arise.
