Germany And UK Agree On A Plan Of Action To Combat Migrant Smugglers

To strengthen collaboration, Britain and Germany inked a joint action plan to combat migrant smuggling groups as European interior and migration ministers gathered in London on Tuesday.

Britain’s border security commander; Martin Hewitt and UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper were joined for discussions by France’s Bruno Retailleau, Germany’s Nancy Faeser, Belgium’s Nicole de Moor and Annelies Verlinden, and the Netherlands’ Marjolein Faber.

To help fulfill his pre-election promise to “smash” the people smuggling gangs, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed former police head Hewitt in September. Increasing illegal migration is a significant problem among European countries.

It was also a major theme in the UK’s July election, which saw Starmer’s Labour Party achieve a landslide victory.

This year, around 34,000 unauthorized migrants have crossed the English Channel and arrived aboard perilous, flimsy ships to reach British shores.

The year 2024 is the bloodiest on record, with at least 70 fatalities. Estimates for net legal migration for the year ending June 2024 are at historically high levels, at 728,000. Before Tuesday’s negotiations, the UK’s Home Office reported that Germany had promised to strengthen its legislation to facilitate the prosecution of individuals smugglers who facilitate small boat crossings from Northern France.

Berlin took a while to verify that information. Numerous smuggling networks that transport individuals from Belarus to Germany via Poland are also transporting migrants across the Channel, according to Miguel Berger, Germany’s ambassador to London.

He said that as a result of Brexit the UK had withdrawn from EU accords on third-country immigration and the London-Berlin agreement would “see how we can again strengthen our cooperation”.

Germany’s Faeser said the two countries were focused on ending “the inhumane activities of criminal migrant smuggling organizations”. “By cramming people into inflatable boats under threats of violence and sending them across the Channel, these organizations put human lives at risk.” ‘Unscrupulous’ Many of the crossings were “planned in Germany” and the deal would help to counter “this unscrupulous business with even more resolve”, she added.

The European ministers’ talks in London are part of the so-called Calais Group. They will agree on “enhanced efforts to break the business model of people smuggling gangs and ensure that those responsible for this dangerous trade are brought to justice”, the Home Office said.

Also taking part are representatives from the European Commission as well as Frontex and Europol. To thwart illegal financial flows and make it easier to prosecute smugglers in Europe, the parties will specifically aim to enhance intelligence sharing.

The “operational capabilities of UK and German law enforcement to tackle the challenge of migrant smuggling, the trafficking of persons” would be strengthened by the US-German collaborative plan, according to a statement from the Home Office.

Germany will also consent to “clarify” its legislation to criminalize the smuggling of migrants into the United Kingdom. “This will give German prosecutors more tools to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boats equipment and allow the UK and Germany to better counter the continually evolving tactics of people smuggling gangs,” said the statement.