To help stop migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats, the UK will send France nearly £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 police and build a new detention facility in France, but neither of these projects will be completed until the end of 2026.
To address the issue, the UK intended to give France about £63 million this year. With the Kingdom committing $127 million in 2023–2024, this new package seems to at least double that sum.
France will increase money for enforcement as well, but it has not specified by how much. Macron applauded the combined efforts made by the French and British crews to lessen small boat crossings.
The Conservatives are allegedly “lurching from one crisis to another with nothing more than their typical sticking plaster politics,” according to Labour’s shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry.
At a press conference held at the Elysee Palace, Sunak 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 disgusting trade in human life,” according to Sunak. “Working together, the UK and France will ensure that nobody can exploit our systems with impunity,” he continued.
Additionally, the funds will support the construction of a 27th prison facility in France. The detention facility would enable for the “removal of more migrants from the French coast,” according to Downing Street.
One of Sunak’s top campaign promises for his administration is to halt the boats. But if the center is finished on that schedule, it won’t be ready for use before the UK’s next poll, which must take place no later than January 2025.
Both men claimed that the Paris summit signalled a new phase in Anglo-French ties. While Sunak described the encounter as a “moment of reconnection,” Macron called it a “moment of reconnection”.
The French president had no reservations about blaming Brexit for what, in his opinion, had caused the relationship to deteriorate in recent years. That was a criticism of Sunak’s three predecessors as UK prime minister and the conflicts they all had with the EU, if you read between the lines of his remark.
The two leaders displayed a strong feeling of camaraderie during their news conference. Macron addressed “dear” Rishi, who in turn thanked “mon ami,” and the briefing ended with an embrace.
The amount of people attempting to cross the English Channel in small, frequently flimsy boats to reach the UK has significantly increased since last year. This is a domestic political problem for Sunak.
He declared that tackling small boats was one of his objectives at the beginning of 2023. In order to keep his promise, he needs to see fewer vessels arriving in the UK.
Although he has wider concerns, Macron shares the desire to see the movements curbed. He wants European nations to examine the travel routes that individuals use to get to Western Europe. Sunak introduced a new Illegal Migration Bill earlier this week.
According to the proposed measures, anyone discovered 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.
Sunak contends his new strategy was “designed to break the business model of the criminal gangs and remove the pull factors, bringing them to the Channel coasts”.
However, some charities and the UN agency for refugees have strongly criticized the measure. It is also possible that judicial issues will arise.
