Britain and France are stepping up their joint fight against human trafficking.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron met at Chequers, the country residence northwest of London for British prime ministers, and agreed to “work more closely” to combat illegal crossings of the English Channel in small boats, A spokesperson for the British government said this on Friday.
The number of migrants traveling by boat will rise again in 2024, according to British government figures.
It was also the deadliest year for the channel, the British news agency PA reported.
Last year, 36,800 people crossed the sea from France to England in small boats. That is a quarter more than the year before and 53 people died during the dangerous crossing.
The Labor government has already announced new sanctions aimed at hitting the finances of the smuggling networks particularly hard.
Starmer and Macron had also reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for Ukraine and discussed the situation in the Middle East during Thursday evening’s meeting, a British government spokesman said. Both had underlined the ‘need for unity in uncertain times’.
The French government said in a statement that the two leaders had reaffirmed the importance of guaranteeing sustainable financial support to Ukraine beyond the current year and providing the necessary equipment to defend Ukrainian territory.
