Britain and France Plan to Tackle Illegal Migration Over English Channel

Britain is facing a wave of uncontrolled migration over The Channel and this flow is growing. This issue sparks political controversies, since one part of British society regards migrants with direct hostility and another one believes that it is moral duty of UK to help these people.

UK and France are aiming to strike a deal that will help both countries coordinate their efforts to fight illegal migration. Agreement implies the creation of joint control center and an increase in the number of officers and volunteers operating on the English Channel beaches.

According to British media, about 40,000 migrants have already crossed the Channel this year. It is an almost 400% increase compared to 2020, when only about 8,000 people made the crossing to Britain from France. Migrants commonly enter the Shengen area via the Mediterranean coast and then head to the UK. The majority of migrants come from Albania (18%), Afghanistan (18%) and Iran (15%).

Lately British foreign minister James Cleverly and his French colleague Catherine Colonna stressed the “urgency of tackling all forms of illegal migration” in a joint statement.

The agreement is highly likely to spark political controversies since many economists and political scientists believe that the best way to fight illegal migration is to open up more legal routes. On the other hand, part of the British population wants to seal the country off from migrants, regarding them as competitors in the labor market or, even worse, as potential criminals.