The UK and France have signed a new agreement aimed at taking all necessary steps to prevent and fight the illegal migration through the English Channel. The agreement between the two countries was signed by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and France Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. According to the UK Home Office press release, under this new deal, the number of French coastline officers will be increased and provided with better equipment to tackle the situation and prevent illegal migration from December 1 onwards.
The agreement signed by the UK and France is built on a cooperation framework which, as per the press release, has already proven effective in increasing the number of migrants intercepted and prevented crossing attempts from 41 percent in 2019 to about 60 percent in the last few weeks. Under the deal, there will be ‘more police patrols on French beaches along with enhanced intelligence sharing between our security and law enforcement agencies’. Apart from increasing the number of French coastline officers, this agreement will ensure that they are provided with ‘enhanced package of cutting edge surveillance technology’ that will include drones, optronic binoculars, fixed cameras and radar equipment’.
All these steps are being taken to ensure that the security forces personnel have all essential equipment and are adequately prepared to prevent the migrants from ‘leaving French beaches in the first place’, according to the new agreement between UK and France. Speaking further about the same, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel shared the government’s plan to introduce a new asylum system which is ‘fair and firm’. London and Paris have been aiming to fix their ‘broken asylum system’ to ensure that the migrants in need of asylum can obtain it through safe and legal mediums while ensuring that those who come from ‘safe European Union countries’ in a bid to abuse the rule are turned away.
