KYIV. March 8. UNN. France and Britain are working on a new deal to prevent migrants from crossing the English Channel, which could be agreed at a summit between leaders Emmanuel Macron and Richie Sunac later this week. AFP writes about it, informs UNN.
Details
Macron is set to welcome British Prime Minister Sunak to Paris on Friday for the first summit between the neighbors in five years.
Preventing the crossing of the English Channel by migrants from France to Great Britain should become the main topic of the negotiations.
“We are in the process of agreeing the terms of strengthening our operational cooperation,” Macron’s assistant told reporters on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
The meeting between Macron and Sunac in Paris is expected to reset relations between Western Europe’s biggest military and diplomatic powers after years of strain.
The departure of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as the war in Ukraine, are seen by analysts as the rapprochement of estranged allies.
After the working lunch and negotiations between the leaders, joint statements on the training of Ukrainian forces, as well as new cooperation in the field of the future development of weapons and nuclear energy, are also expected.
Addition
Britain agreed to pay a further €72.2 million to France as part of a deal last November to deploy an extra 350 people to detect and prevent crossings of migrant boats.
According to the latest figures from the French authorities, around 800 people, including regular police, border guards and customs officials, take part in daily operations against migrants in northern France.
The British government on Tuesday unveiled a draft of a new immigration law aimed at deterring migrants boarding boats to cross the English Channel, one of the world’s busiest shipping channels.
The law, which prevents people who have arrived illegally in the UK from applying for asylum, has sparked outrage from human rights organisations.