The United Kingdom and France signed a new agreement in Paris on Monday to strengthen cooperation in an attempt to curb illegal immigration in the English Channel, which this year has reached a new record.
The agreement signed by the Interior Ministers of the two countries, Suella Braverman and Gérald Darmanin, is an extension and expansion of a previous agreement and provides for more maritime patrols and the provision of more technical resources as part of better bilateral cooperation to reduce the number of crossings across the English Channel.
On Sunday, the British government confirmed that more than 40,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the English Channel on makeshift boats from France to the UK this year, a new record compared with 28,526 crossings in 2021.
The majority, according to London, are Albanians, Iranians and Afghans.
According to a statement from the British Home Office, there will be a 40% increase in the number of French patrols, which will include specialized agents from the United Kingdom for the first time.
This new multi-year agreement involves the UK paying up to €72.2m in 2022/23 to strengthen port security, investment in surveillance technology, drones, dog teams, video surveillance and helicopters to help detect and prevent crossings.
Since 2020, cooperation between the two countries has resulted in the dismantling of 55 human trafficking groups and 500 arrests, of which 140 have been prosecuted and convicted of human trafficking.
The Home Office also claims that more than 30,000 crossing attempts have already been prevented since the beginning of the year, an increase of more than 50% on last year.
“We must do everything in our power to prevent people from undertaking these dangerous journeys and to dismantle criminal groups. This is a global problem that requires global solutions and it is in the interest of the British and French governments to work together to solve this complex issue”. said British Minister Suella Braverman.
Source: TSF
