Following ministerial discussions in Paris, both nations pledge to “go even further and faster” in their efforts to decrease the number of small boat crossings in the Channel.
In order to enable law enforcement to promptly detect and halt small boat crossings in the Channel, plans to accelerate the deployment of aerial surveillance equipment were approved by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Home Secretary James Cleverly.
They also decided to make fresh measures to obstruct the boats’ material supply by exchanging intelligence.
The pair committed to “go even further and faster in tackling illegal migration and build even closer law enforcement and security cooperation ties in 2024” and talked about organizing a meeting of the so-called Calais Group, which consists of ministers from the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, to discuss what more they could do together.
Over half of the 500 people the UK committed to pay in France to assist with boat crossings have reportedly already been deployed, and UK liaison officials are now stationed in Calais and Lille on a permanent basis, according to the Home Office.
The employees are part of a £480 million contract that Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron inked, with the money to be spent in 2023–2026.
However, 1,180 migrants have braved the perilous Channel crossing in 27 boats since the year’s beginning.
