European partners wary of UK-France migrant dealpublished at 12:48 British Summer Time
12:48 BST
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, AFP
Several EU countries in Southern Europe will be eyeing the detail of any UK-France deal that’s agreed today on curbing irregular migration across the Channel.
That’s because they fear the deal could affect them directly – if France takes back migrants involved in small-boat crossings, in return for the UK accepting people with family connections.
Under EU rules, those migrants sent back to France would have to claim asylum in the European country they first came to, and in most cases that means the five states bordering the Mediterranean – Spain and Italy in particular.
The southern states have told the European Commission of their worries about a UK-France deal, and the Commission’s internal affairs spokesman, Markus Lammert, has just given a brief statement on the issue.
“We are working with France and the UK, as well as
other [EU] member states to support solutions that are compatible with the spirit
and letter of EU law,” he tells reporters in Brussels.
It’s another element that the UK and France will have taken account of, if this deal is to have any chance of success.