The United Kingdom and France on Thursday night finalised a deal wherein the UK will begin to return irregular migrants who had crossed the English Channel back to France, despite Cyprus and four other European Union members raising objections to it.
According to the British government, the deal will see a pilot scheme implemented wherein those who arrive in the UK aboard “small boats” which have crossed the English Channel from France will be returned to France, and “then an equal number of migrants will be able to come to the UK from France through a new legal route”.
This route, the British government said, will be “fully documented and subject to strict security checks”.
It added that the agreement is “intended to prevent illegal migrant journeys across Europe to the UK and prevent dangerous small boat crossings, helping to undermine the business model of organised gangs profiting from people’s misery by showing others these journeys could result in them being returned back to France – ultimately saving lives”.
However, the governments of Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Spain had sent a joint letter to the European Commission last week expressing concerns that the deal may lead to irregular migrants being sent back to the EU member state at which they first arrived after being returned to France.
“We take note — with a degree of surprise — of the reported intention of France to sign a bilateral readmission arrangement,” the letter read, according to British newspaper the Financial Times.
“Such an initiative raises serious concerns for us, both procedurally and in terms of potential implications for other member states, particularly those of first entry … We believe it is essential to clarify whether the agreement may produce any direct or indirect consequences for other member states.”
Of the letter, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed last week that they had taken receipt of the letter and added that “we are in contact with the French and UK authorities to ensure the necessary clarifications are made”.
“We are working with France and the UK as well as other EU member states to support solutions compatible with the spirit and letter of EU law,” it added.
Despite the Mediterranean states’ fears, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stressed that the deal is a positive and that it will enhance the UK’s relations with Europe as a whole.
“This ground-breaking deal is a crucial further step in turning the tide on illegal small boat crossings and restoring order to our immigration system,” he said, adding that “by resetting our relationships across Europe we’ve made levels of co-operation possible never seen before”.
French President Emmanuel Macron was, according to French newspaper Le Monde, less glowing of the deal, only going as far as to describe it as “pragmatic”, but stressed that France and the UK have “no choice but to work together”.
He pointed out that the UK had become a more attractive destination for irregular migrants after leaving the EU, given that the EU’s Dublin Regulation, which generally assigns responsibility to the first EU member state at which an asylum seeker arrives for their asylum process, no longer applies on British soil.
On this matter, he once again lamented the “lies” which persuaded the UK’s electorate to vote to leave the EU.
Even less convinced was French non-governmental organisation Utopia 56, which specialises on migrant rights.
“This is a monetisation of people between two countries, and it will not stop those whose asylum applications in Europe are rejected from trying to cross. And how will France manage the people who are sent back? Are we going to put them in groups in detention centres?” asked spokeswoman Charlotte Kwantes.
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