A senior EU official stated that she does not think the EU will reach an immigration agreement with the UK because of disputes over immigration. Brexit protocol.
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson stated that EU member states have “limited” interest in reaching an agreement with the United Kingdom to manage asylum seekers and immigration, citing concerns about the post-Brexit trade agreement and Northern Ireland Agreement.
Instead, she said, the focus should be on “actual cooperation” to deter attempts by people to cross the strait from France, such as police cooperation and intelligence sharing.
She spoke before the conflict between EU and UK negotiators last week on the future of the Irish agreement, which kept Northern Ireland in the EU single market, and the British government hopes to rewrite the agreement.Her comments emphasized how the dispute over the protocol undermined the broader EU-UK relations, and the task facing Foreign Secretary Liz Terrass, he Took over the Brexit briefing on Sunday, After shock David Frost resigns.
For example, the agreement dispute also means that British scientists are still excluded The European Union’s 95.5 billion Euro Horizon Research Funding Program.
Johnson said in an interview with The Guardian and other European newspapers: “We have some concerns about the implementation of TCA. [Trade and Cooperation Agreement] And the current agreement on Northern Ireland, so I guess the interest of the member states in the negotiation of the new agreement [on migration] … Is limited. “
last month 27 people drowned in the strait A record number of people attempted a dangerous journey from Calais to the UK. This tragedy prompted the Northwestern European countries to reach an agreement to strengthen actions against human smugglers, even though Priti Patel, the Minister of the Interior, was cancelled due to a dispute over how to deal with this issue between France and Britain. Invitation.
Johnson emphasized that it is very important to work with the United Kingdom to resolve the smuggling networks operating in Germany, Belgium and France that bring people to Dover. “I think the most important thing is to work pragmatically with the UK on these issues, and we must work together in this regard. I think this should be the first thing before discussing any new formal authorization to negotiate a new agreement.”
Her views are in stark contrast to the French government, which is seeking to reach a broader EU-UK agreement to deal with people travelling to northern France seeking to reach the British coast.According to French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin France will promote the EU-UK immigration treaty When taking over the EU presidency on January 1. “We need to negotiate a treaty because [the former EU negotiator] gentlemen [Michel] Barnier did not do this when negotiating Brexit. “
The EU member states did not discuss the strait issue at a meeting on the resolution of irregular immigration earlier this month. Instead, they focused on the situation at the border between Poland and Belarus. People from the Middle East were trapped in a desperate environment after arriving in Minsk.
The European Commissioner had a conversation with the Minister of the Interior last week, and EU officials called it a “short and constructive call.” The two agreed that “action needs to be taken in a firm manner to address the increasing number of immigrants crossing the Strait, and Priority should be given to practical and actionable cooperation”.
Sources from the Ministry of the Interior gave a similar description of this call, emphasizing the need for urgent, collaborative and practical action.
During the Brexit negotiations, Brussels rejected the British proposal This will allow the government to send asylum seekers back to the EU, The rights enjoyed by the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union. In August 2020, the UK Home Office stated that from the end of that year, the UK “will be able to negotiate its own bilateral return arrangements”.
The Ministry of the Interior declined to say what progress has been made in bilateral returns agreements with EU countries, and officials said they did not provide rolling comments.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior said: “The tragic incident in the strait last month is a clear reminder of how dangerous it is for these small boats to cross the border.
We believe that this is a global challenge, and we have a common moral responsibility to jointly solve the problem of illegal immigration. We remain committed to working closely with our EU neighbors to find common solutions to prevent further loss of life. “
