Britain and France have signed an updated agreement to counter illegal migration across the English Channel, which creates problems for both countries and threatens the lives of migrants who decide to make such a journey.
This is reported by the BBC and Le Figaro.
British Home Secretary Swella Braverman arrived in Paris to sign the updated agreement. It provides for an increase in the funds that London provides to Paris for the cost of enhanced patrols of the coast – from about 62 million euros to about 71 million euros per year. The number of patrolmen should grow from 200 to 350 people.
The funds will also be used to purchase drones and night vision devices, as well as the costs of centers for migrants.
French ports will receive additional funding for video surveillance systems and sniffer dogs trained to detect hidden cargo or people to make it harder to transport illegal migrants in trucks. French and British observers will work together in the control rooms.
The agreement was actually ready during the last few months, but Paris was in no hurry to finalize it before the stabilization of power in Britain.
Since the beginning of 2022, more than 40,000 people have entered Britain illegally through France and the English Channel, which is a record compared to figures in previous years. This problem is one of the issues that regularly complicates London’s relations with Paris and is a hot topic within both countries.