Balkans | Britain and France agreed to fight irregular immigration

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that within the framework of the agreement with France to prevent irregular immigration, a new detention center will be established in northern France, and British and French security forces will patrol the French coast together.

Sunak held a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Franco-British summit in Paris.

Describing the summit as a “new beginning in relations,” Sunak said issues of irregular migration, energy and security were discussed.

Sunak said that “criminal organizations cannot decide who enters our country,” and said that after becoming prime minister, she concluded an important agreement with France to combat illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel, and said:

Today, we have taken this agreement to an unprecedented level to address our common problem. We announce that we will create a new detention center in the north of France. With a new command center, we are bringing our security forces together under one roof for the first time. It will increase capture rates for 500 new security guards (illegal immigrants) to patrol the French coast, all backed by more drones and surveillance technology.”

Sunak also said the Anti-Irregular Immigration Bill, announced this week by the UK government, would destroy the jobs of people smugglers and the system that brings illegal immigrants into the English Channel.

We are helping Ukraine win the war.

Sunak made it clear that France and England could save Europe from dependence on Russian gas, and referred to the nuclear cooperation agreement signed with France.

Pointing out that energy will be provided from safer, more sustainable and secure sources in cooperation between the two countries, Sunak stated that European security is also threatened by the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Sunak said that the two countries decided to train the Ukrainian navy, and said, “We are helping Ukraine to gain a great advantage on the battlefield and win the war.” He said.

Sunak said they would cooperate with France in developing more complex defense systems.

We want Ukraine to win this war.

In response to the journalists’ questions at the end of the meeting, Sunak continued the following:

We want Ukraine to win this war. We think the same about this. All our counterattack support and capacity building trainings are to provide a huge advantage on the battlefield. The tanks, long-range weapons assistance, and exercises that we announced today will help Ukraine win this war, gain an advantage on the field, and carry out a successful counterattack. We direct all our energies here.”

He explained that they are working in cooperation with France to prevent irregular migration, and stated that they have destroyed 50 criminal organizations in this context, and nearly 500 people have been detained, and thousands of migrant boats have been stopped this year alone.

Pointing out that migration is a global problem, Sunak indicated that the results of the agreement will emerge with the steps to be taken in the coming months.

Stating that the biggest cause of high inflation is energy prices, Sunak said that through energy cooperation, industrialists and citizens of the two countries can access cheaper energy.

AA