Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced deals with Belgium, Bulgaria, and Serbia to address the issue of people trafficking, which he referred to as a “moral crisis.” The agreements involve increasing intelligence-sharing and cooperation in order to combat organized illegal immigration. These initiatives were discussed during a summit in Granada, Spain, where Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the flow of illegal migrants from Africa and Asia to Europe as a moral crisis.
The United Kingdom has reached an agreement with Belgium to disrupt organized immigration crime and clandestine entry into Britain. UK police will also collaborate closely with law enforcement agencies in Serbia and Bulgaria to disrupt criminal networks involved in human trafficking.
After Brexit, the UK lost its automatic access to shared intelligence with other European Union law enforcement agencies. However, Sunak is working to secure a deal that would allow Britain to access the Frontex database, which contains valuable information related to combating illegal migration.
During the European Political Community summit in Granada, Sunak chaired a meeting with Meloni and other non-EU nations, including Albania. They agreed on an eight-point plan to tackle migrant smuggling and strengthen cooperation on visas. Sunak emphasized that addressing illegal migration is a shared European challenge, and he believes that it should be the countries themselves, not criminal gangs, who decide who enters their territories.
The Telegraph reported that a Frontex deal had been agreed upon, which would enhance the UK Border Force’s understanding of smuggler routes through Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed his support, stating that collaboration between the EU, UK, and Western Balkans can prevent a significant amount of illegal migration.
Sunak and Meloni co-authored a joint editorial for The Times of London, stating that criminal gangs are exploiting and profiting from the misery of vulnerable migrants. They described the situation as a moral and humanitarian crisis, with over 2,000 lives already lost this year due to shipwrecks. The pair urged other nations to act urgently and join their efforts to stop illegal migration.
The number of migrant deaths has been highest in the Mediterranean, but there have also been incidents in the English Channel. A Frontex map revealed that in the first eight months of this year, 114,625 migrants were intercepted crossing the Mediterranean between Libya and Italy. The largest groups of illegal immigrants were from Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. Additionally, 9,447 individuals were identified crossing from Morocco to Spain, and 24,094 were caught crossing from Turkey to Greece. In the Balkans, 70,548 migrants reached the borders of Slovenia, Italy, or Austria, with Syrians forming the majority of this group.
The Home Office reported that over 25,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats this year. While this number is lower than the 33,000 recorded by October 2, 2022, it is expected to be lower than the total arrivals in 2022.
In summary, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made agreements with Belgium, Bulgaria, and Serbia to combat people trafficking. These deals involve intelligence-sharing, cooperation, and disruption of criminal networks. Sunak aims to secure access to the Frontex database and has called for European countries to work together to address illegal migration. He described the situation as a moral crisis and emphasized the need to prevent criminal gangs from exploiting vulnerable individuals.