Brussels (Brussels Morning) The UK has reached an agreement with France to deploy more police on the French coast in an attempt to stop boats transporting migrants to Britain. The deal also envisages the UK investing 62.7 million euro in detection technology to be used by French police forces.
The deal was ironed out during a meeting between the French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin and the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, which sought to reduce even further the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in their efforts to find asylum in Britain.
Nearly 8,500 people have crossed the Channel in a variety of boats and dinghies this year, already exceeding the total number recorded in 2020. At least 430 migrants reached the British coast just this Monday, a record for a single day. Women and young children were among the arrivals.
The new deal will see France double its police presence along the country’s northern shores, in addition to conducting a greater number of air patrols in the future. The measures are intended to help intercept boats and dinghies during attempted crossings. The 62.7 million euro subsidy from the British government will help fund some of the planned measures, including the expansion of migrant shelters in France.
As the number of migrants trying to reaching the UK is growing, the country’s Conservative government is stepping up its efforts to make Britain less attractive to asylum seekers. These include exploring options that would make it possible for it to hold fewer migrants in the future.
Planned methods for discouraging migrants include sanctions on illegal migration and on the people and organisations enabling it. Another measure, considered earlier this year, would be to process asylum requests remotely, by first transferring migrants away from the UK to a third location, such as the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
