Priti Patel described the increase in the number of people seeking to travel to the EU as a “mass immigration crisis” and accused the EU’s open border policy to allow this to happen.
The Secretary of the Interior said that the “Schengen Agreement” abolished the national borders between member states and made France “overwhelmed” by immigrants trying to reach the UK.
She told reporters in Washington, DC on Thursday that free movement within the EU has exacerbated immigration issues.
“Let us not forget that the real problem with the flow of illegal immigrants is that the EU does not have any border protection-Schengen opens its borders,” she said.
“I think it’s fair to say that they [France] At a loss. This is a fact. When you think about traffic, what are they doing?They are definitely patrolling the beach [but] Would I think that numbers are so important that they have enough resources? We have been putting pressure on France. “
This year, more than 24,500 immigrants crossed the English Channel in small boats-almost three times the number of people arriving in the UK in 2020.
More than 1,000 people arrived on Tuesday, and dozens of migrants are believed to have crossed the English Channel on Thursday, including one who had to be airlifted to the hospital after a suspected medical incident while trying to cross by boat.
When asked if more than 12,000 people have crossed the English Channel since the July transaction, she promised France whether the 54 million pounds that she had promised to deal with the crisis in the summer is worthwhile, Patel said: “It has nothing to do with value for money. There is a large-scale immigration crisis.
“Some are from the Sahel, some are from Libya, and some are from Italy and Greece.
“Now Greece has a different policy. They haven’t decided to sit behind the EU’s capacity block, but as a result, if you talk to my French counterparts, or even their civil servants, they will say that 70% of people enter northern France.
“They are all from Belgium. This is true because the border is open.”
