- Germany and France say Brexit has been “harmful” to migration policies
France and Germany are pushing for the EU to negotiate a migration deal with Sir Keir Starmer’s government, which they consider “conducive” to advancing their demands.
Brussels is reportedly looking to create legal routes for asylum seekers, including through load-sharing quotas that would distribute people from Italy and Greece, The Times reports.
The prime minister’s proposed “reset” of Britain’s relations with the EU is seen by France and Germany as an opportunity to win concessions for their citizens in the UK.
They hope to be able to guarantee “legal mobility” for European workers and students in Britain in exchange for a new migration deal aimed at reducing Channel crossings.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin, who has since left his post, issued a joint letter on Friday urging the European Commission to “swiftly present a draft negotiating mandate” for the talks.
The image shows an inflatable boat carrying migrants heading towards the English Channel on August 6, 2024.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin, who has since left office, urged the European Commission to “swiftly present a draft negotiating mandate” for the talks.
“We believe that Brexit has had very damaging consequences for the coherence of our migration policies,” they wrote in the letter, first reported by AFP.
‘The absence of provisions regulating the flow of people between the United Kingdom and the Schengen area clearly contributes to the dynamics of irregular flows and the danger faced by people using this route in the English Channel and the North Sea.
‘The arrival of a new British government in power, which has demonstrated its intention to cooperate constructively with the EU, seems to us to be conducive to achieving concrete progress on this issue.’
The ministers added that they “rely heavily” on the EU to “simultaneously address the issues of legal mobility, in particular family and professional mobility, the fight against illegal immigration and the right to asylum with our British partner.”
The Labour government has indicated that it is willing to work with the EU to tackle illegal migration.
However, it has insisted that its “red lines” have not changed, and that there will be no return to freedom of movement or participation in a quota system.
Any deal between the EU and the UK would need the support of each of the bloc’s 27 members, which seems unlikely given that migration is a contentious issue across the continent.
Yvette Cooper insisted today that the Labour Party is “serious” about reducing net migration
The Interior Minister is due to meet Ms Faeser, along with France’s new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Italy’s Matteo Piantedosi at a G7 ministerial meeting next week.
Migration will be high on the agenda after a series of tragedies recently, with overcrowded migrant boats capsizing in the English Channel.
Yvette Cooper insisted today that the Labour Party is “serious” about reducing net migration, but warned that Britain must “adequately train young people” to replace foreign workers.
Speaking at the party conference in Liverpool, the Home Secretary said net migration “must decline” after tripling under the Conservative government.
Meanwhile, France’s new right-wing government, inaugurated this week, is also promising to get tougher on illegal immigration.
Some 41,078 migrants tried to reach the UK from the Schengen zone in the first eight months of 2024, according to Frontex, the EU’s border agency.
Eight men died earlier this month when a boat with 53 migrants on board crashed into rocks off the coast of Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France. Six people were taken to hospital, including a 10-month-old baby.