The European Union and the United Kingdom have agreed to cooperate in reducing irregular migration across the English Channel, in another sign of a warming in relations after years of post-Brexit tensions.
Brussels and London will negotiate a deal to share intelligence, expertise and personnel to combat smugglers, after six months of deadlock over the plan.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen endorsed the idea of London working with the European Border Agency at a meeting on the sidelines of a Council of Europe summit in Reykjavík.
“We need to do more to collaborate across borders and across jurisdictions to end illegal immigration and stop the boats,” Sunak said.
Sunak has come under increasing pressure from government ministers and senior Tory MPs to deal with migrant crossings on the English Channel after he hurt the results of local elections when the party lost 1,000 seats in parliament.
Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron Agreed To promote bilateral cooperation on the canal in an effort to reduce migration. However, Tuesday’s announcement marks an important step in the European-wide effort to tackle the problem and London’s acceptance that the UK cannot deal with it alone.
Four EU North Sea The states had been pressing the UK for a deal since last December, but the Commission blocked it because of the post-Brexit row over trade arrangements with Northern Ireland.
This was settled through the Windsor Framework signed in March, and the two sides have been striving to improve relations since then.
“The Windsor Framework opened the way,” said an EU diplomat. The Commission had blocked the Frontex deal while those talks were underway. Improving relationships opens the door to mutually beneficial partnerships like these.”
After years of tensions under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration, Sunak has sought to strengthen diplomatic relations with Brussels over issues such as the war in Ukraine and immigration. Speaking on Tuesday, the prime minister stressed that the UK remains a “proud European country” ready to work with its neighbors to defend shared values.
Frontex has partnerships with 18 other countries, each country a little different. The basic framework that the UK wants excludes the deployment of Frontex officers. However, staff can be exchanged and liaison officers deployed in each other’s countries. They can also exchange information about migrant routes and smuggling rings as well as exchange alerts about forged documents.
A spokesperson for the Commission said: “Strengthened cooperation will .
However, tensions remain, and the spokesperson added that “actions taken within Frontex’s working arrangements must fully respect the international human rights obligations of the EU and the UK, including the European Court of Human Rights.”
EU Migration Commissioner Ylva Johansson has raised concerns about a UK immigration bill under which asylum seekers would be deported to a “safe” third country such as Rwanda to have their claims processed there, or back to their country of origin. “I wonder if this is in line with international obligations,” she said at a meeting in March.
The legislation, which is making its way through parliament, has also been criticized by the UN refugee agency and the Council of Europe itself, which said the bill would put the country in violation of the UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. .
Last month, the House of Commons passed amendments that would allow the home secretary to overturn judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they sought to block deportations to Rwanda, as they did last year.
