U.K. and France have announced £ 480 million deal to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel
The United Kingdom (U.K.) will pay £ 480 million (U.S. $ 577 million) to France over the next 3 years to stop migrants from France travelling in small boats across the English Channel to the U.K.
The announcement was made by the Prime Minister of the U.K. – Rishi Sunak and President of France – Emmanuel Macron at a Summit designed to rebuild ties after years of bickering over Brexit. The funding will be done in instalments, with the French also contributing significantly more funding.
Earlier, Macron welcomed Sunak at the Elysee Palace and the two greeted each other with smiles and mutual back-slapping. The two leaders were accompanied by 7 ministers on each side.
As part of the new deal, Britain will help fund a detention centre in France while Paris will deploy more French personnel and enhanced technology to patrol its beaches. Officers from both countries will also look to work with countries along the routes favoured by people traffickers.
Speaking on the occasion, Sunak said, “Emmanuel and I share the same beliefs. Criminal gangs should not get to decide who comes to our country. Within weeks of my coming into office, we agreed our largest ever small boats deal and today we’ve taken our cooperation to an unprecedented level to tackle this shared challenge.”
Taking it to twitter, Sunak tweeted,
The partnership the UK and France share runs deep.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) March 10, 2023
From tackling illegal migration to driving growth in our economies to defending our common security, when we work together we all benefit.
It's in that spirit I'm looking forward to meeting @EmmanuelMacron today. pic.twitter.com/icjwBpMFvN
Macron tweeted,
The destinies of the United Kingdom and France are linked. Our challenges are shared. Conservation of our planet, support for Ukraine, security and energy cooperation: together we are making progress.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 10, 2023
Welcome to Paris, @RishiSunak. pic.twitter.com/J1QmHg1djp
Sunak is hoping to capitalize on renewed goodwill with France and the wider European Union (E.U.) after he struck the Windsor Framework – a new agreement with the bloc aimed at fixing problems with Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Besides, the U.K. and France agreed to train Ukrainian marines to help Kyiv win the war against Russia, increase the interoperability of their armed forces and jointly explore the development of complex weapons such as air defense and long-range weapons.
Earlier, the French officials had accused the Former Prime Minister of the U.K. – Boris Johnson of provoking a number of diplomatic disputes between Paris and London. These include arguments over post-Brexit fishing rights, Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions and a French contract to sell submarines to Australia, which was derailed by another U.S.-U.K. deal with Australia.
