French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Liz Truss agreed, on Thursday 6 October on the margins of the European Political Community Summit, to resume their cooperation on migration.
In particular, the UK is expected to quickly rejoin the so-called ‘Calais’ group of member countries, i.e. the group involving the German, Belgian, Dutch and French interior ministers, to address the issue of migrant crossings across the Channel. The UK had been ‘dis-invited’ from a meeting in Calais at the end of 2021 after Boris Johnson wrote to Emmanuel Macron, asking Paris to take back all migrants who arrived in the UK through a bilateral agreement (see EUROPE 12841/28).
“The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation with their close neighbours, including through an early meeting of the Calais Group”, a joint statement said. The interior ministers of both countries will also work on finding common solutions “this autumn” to address the problem of criminal organisations involved in these dangerous crossings.
Suella Braverman is the new British Home Secretary since 6 September. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)