Britain signs agreement with Kosovo, other Western Balkan countries to fight human trafficking gangs

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will sign new agreements to prevent criminal gangs smuggling immigrants across the Western Balkans as part of efforts to block small boat crossings.

Sir Keir Starmer will make public agreements to boost intelligence exchange, expertise and co-operation with Kosovo, Northern Macedonia and Serbia at a meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday, reports British media “Standard”

It is expected to encourage European partners to take action to reduce deaths in the English Channel during small boat crossings and to tell them that legal international co-operation will be key to efforts.

British media wrote that the Western Balkans is a key route used by immigrants who end up in the EU or United Kingdom illegally. Almost 100,000 immigrants traveled on this road last year.

The agreements will reportedly boost the exchange of intelligence information and co-operation to prevent criminal gangs while they smuggle people into these countries. The goal is to arrest gangs and break their business patterns from the start.

The United Kingdom already works with Albania to combat illegal financial flows supporting smuggling gangs operations.

There is a criminal empire operating on our continent, robbing people and undermining our national security”.

“Supported by our new Border Security Command, the United Kingdom will be at the centre of efforts to end the plague of organised immigration crime ) but we can't make it alone”.

We have to go further and faster, along with our international partners, and take the war directly to the heart of these dirty human smuggling networks. I will make this central feature of my discussions at today's European Political Community Summit”, British Prime Minister Starmer has indicated.

British Interior Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Our work with our partners in the Western Balkans is absolutely essential to the disposal of criminal networks that orchestrate the exploitation of vulnerable people for financial gain”.

“Working more closely with Kosovo, northern Macedonia and Serbia, we will share information and intelligence and we will work beyond borders to determine what is going on and where, to break the business patterns of these unscrupulous gangs into sources”.

Under our intensified work, criminals will soon realise they have nowhere to hide”, she said.

Britain's prime minister launched a week-long campaign for small boat crossings Monday, when he announced an additional 90m euros in funds for his new Border Security Command, bringing the total funding to 180m euros

He said he planned to push forward the United Kingdom's efforts to link a security pact with the EU, including restoring access to real-time intelligence exchange networks.