Brussels, 22/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The United Kingdom and France agreed on 20 September to work together on the issue of migrants arriving in Calais and will set up a joint fund to secure the port of Calais, the lay-out of which will be re-designed to make surveillance easier and improve traffic flow, and to protect vulnerable persons, the French Ministry of the Interior has announced;
London will contribute €15 million over three years; According to Bernard Cazeneuve, French Minister of the Interior, the UK acknowledges its responsibility, along with that of France, for the urgent long-tem measures that have to be put in place to resolve the migration crisis that Calais has been experiencing for several years. Police cooperation against traffickers will be stepped up, with exchanges of police officers and joint information campaigns to be conducted among migrants to make clear to them how dangerous it is to attempt to enter the UK illegally, the minister added. The French authorities estimate that between 1,400 and 1,500 migrants, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, are currently in Calais and its surrounding area hoping to be able to make their way to the United Kingdom. (SP)