8 hours agoBritain, France Reach Agreement on Illegal Migrants
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)Great Britain and France have agreed Thursday on a pilot plan that will bring back several migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats back to France, as the British government tries to address criticism that it has lost control over the country's borders, the AP has written. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and [...]
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the agreement Thursday in London. Despite the fact that the initial program includes limited numbers of people, British officials refer to it as great progress, as it results in creating the precedent for migrants who arrive illegally in Britain to return to France.
“does not have a single magical solution, but with common effort, new tactics and new level of determination, we can finally turn the situation in our favour”, Starmer said before journalists during the joint press conference. For the first time, migrants arriving in small boats will be stopped and returned to France in a short time”.
Under the deal, British authorities will return some of those who cross the canal in small boats back to France, while accepting an equal number of migrants considered to have legitimate asylum requirements in Great Britain.
Crossing small boats has become a hot political issue in Britain, driven by images of traffickers loading migrants into crowded boats and flowing water on the French coast.
So far, over 21,000 people have arrived in Great Britain in small boats, up 56 per cent compared to the same period in the past year.
Meanwhile, dozens of them have lost their lives.
The move announced Thursday is part of the broader efforts to contribute to closer co-operation between the two countries, as well as other states along the routes of migrants from Africa and the Middle East. /Periscope/
