Macron is expected to reject requests to allow Britain to return cross-Channel migrants.
Britain hopes to secure their active support at the summit for a long-term agreement, similar to the EU’s existing ‘Dublin’ rules, to return illegal migrants crossing the English Channel.
But European diplomats said the request would be rejected at a time when France accuses other member states, such as neighboring Italy, of not accepting migrants.
Macron has already made it clear that France would not be willing to agree a bilateral treaty with the UK on the return of migrants across the English Channel, saying any agreement would have to be at EU level.
Yesterday, the interior ministers of France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules that require them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived in their territories.
Macron has already made it clear that France would not be willing to agree a bilateral treaty with the UK on the return of migrants across the English Channel, saying any agreement would have to be at EU level.
Yesterday, the interior ministers of France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules that require them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived. to their territories.
“Why would Macron pull back Brexit Britain, or ask others to do so, when other EU members, like Italy, are not following European rules?” said a diplomat. ‘That will not happen. It’s a chimera.
It comes after Priti Patel urged Rishi Sunak to use a summit with Emmanuel Macron today to push for a deal allowing Britain to return Channel migrants to EU countries.
The former home secretary said this was crucial to help end the small boat crisis, as well as clear a large backlog of asylum cases.
He urged the prime minister to capitalize on the goodwill created through a post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland to convince Macron to negotiate a bloc-wide immigrant return deal.
Before Brexit, Britain could send asylum seekers back to countries like Greece and Italy without considering their case if they applied there upon arrival in the EU.
But UK ministers have not negotiated a replacement for the scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation.
Priti Patel (pictured) has urged Rishi Sunak to use a summit with Emmanuel Macron today to push for a deal allowing Britain to return Channel migrants to EU countries. The former home secretary said this was crucial to help end the small boat crisis, as well as clear a large backlog of asylum cases.
He urged the prime minister to capitalize on the goodwill created through a post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland to convince Macron (pictured) to negotiate a bloc-wide migrant return deal.
It means thousands of asylum seekers languishing in Britain who could have been deported by now.
Ms Patel also criticized her successor Suella Braverman’s plan to tackle small boats, saying some measures stemming from her own bill, the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, had yet to be implemented.
Sunak will travel to Paris today to meet the French president at the first Anglo-French summit in five years.
As a sign of the importance attached to him for the restart of relations, he will be accompanied by six Cabinet ministers, including the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, Interior and Defense.
Britain hopes to secure a long-term agreement with the EU to return illegal immigrants who cross the Channel.
In return, the UK would accept refugees from the EU.
But officials at the Elysee Palace in Paris have suggested Macron will play hardball on the issue, and a deal is not expected because EU leaders want a bloc-wide deal.
Instead, Sunak and Macron appear to be on course for a long-term, multi-billion dollar deal to boost French beach patrols with extra vigilance and officers to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.
However, there is skepticism as to whether it will provide value for money because Britain has given nearly £200m to France since 2018 to tackle the small boat crisis; however, 45,728 immigrants arrived in Kent last year.
Patel, who was interior minister from July 2019 until September last year, called on Sunak to pressure Macron to negotiate a return deal using his key role in the EU.
She said: ‘He needs to push for a return deal. The EU has been taking too long.
“Everyone is talking about an EU-wide return agreement, but in reality the EU does not speak with one voice.
“But it’s about time they recognized that there is a global migration crisis and that everyone needs to work together to solve this, and Rishi needs to go and make that case.”
“There is no single solution to solve illegal immigration and stop the crossings of the Channel.
“But this is what you should be asking for and it would be key to bringing back people who have already traveled through a safe country and have no right to be here.
Before Brexit, Britain could send asylum seekers back to countries like Greece and Italy without considering their case if they applied there upon arrival in the EU. But UK ministers have not negotiated a replacement for the scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation.
Sunak will travel to Paris today to meet the French president at the first Anglo-French summit in five years.
“These crossings are dangerous, they are illegal and we have seen the most terrible consequences because of them, so it is right that the government does everything possible to fix this.”
Other topics to be discussed today include collaboration in nuclear energy and the defense industry.
Among the goodwill gestures to be agreed is an agreement to facilitate school trips. Mr Sunak said: ‘Our deep history, proximity and shared global perspective mean that a strong UK-France partnership is not just valuable, it is essential.
‘From tackling the scourge of illegal migration to boosting investment in each other’s economies, the work we do together improves the lives of each and every person in our countries.’
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “It is important that we secure a (return) deal with the EU, and France will be an important component of that.”
