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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/p>\n
Italy, Spain and three other southern EU countries have criticised a proposed Franco-British migration deal, arguing it could leave them having to take back people returned from the UK to the continent.<\/p>\n
The five nations, which also include Greece, Malta and Cyprus, have sent a letter to the European Commission, seen by the Financial Times, objecting to France negotiating an arrangement to swap asylum seekers with Britain in a bid to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in boats. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe take note \u2014 with a degree of surprise \u2014 of the reported intention of France to sign a bilateral readmission arrangement,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf confirmed, such an initiative raises serious concerns for us, both procedurally and in terms of potential implications for other member states, particularly those of first entry,\u201d they wrote in the letter sent last week.<\/p>\n
The precise terms of the Franco-British deal remain unclear, but the principle would be to return irregular migrants to France while Britain accepted asylum seekers seeking resettlement. Such swaps were first attempted in the EU\u2019s migration deal with Turkey to stem boat crossings to Greece. <\/p>\n
A British official admitted that \u201cthe final hurdles are taking longer than expected\u201d as some EU countries \u201care more onboard than others\u201d. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to visit London on July 8. <\/p>\n
As part of the \u201creset\u201d agreement signed in May, the EU and the UK pledged to work on \u201cpractical and innovative approaches\u201d to reduce irregular migration. But divisions within the EU and demands from the UK prevented a wider agreement on migration.<\/p>\n
The UK has instead pushed for bilateral agreements with European capitals on the most sensitive issue of \u201csmall boats\u201d. In the year to March, 38,000 people crossed the Channel in small vessels, according to the government.<\/p>\n
The Mediterranean group objected to France negotiating the deal with the UK bilaterally, rather than as a part of the EU-UK \u201creset\u201d deal.<\/p>\n
The five signatories \u2014 often the first port of call for people making the perilous journey to Europe from Africa \u2014 are concerned that the initiative would mean France would, using EU rules, return asylum seekers to the first country of entry, where their asylum claim should be processed. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe it is essential to clarify whether the agreement may produce any direct or indirect consequences for other member states,\u201d the countries wrote.<\/p>\n