UK Pledges £660m to France to Halt Channel Crossings
The UK has agreed a new three-year cooperation deal with France aimed at curbing illegal migration across the English Channel. Under the agreement, London will commit up to £660m ($892m), with part of the funding tied to concrete results.
The bulk of the money will go toward reinforcing controls in northern France, where hundreds of police officers, intelligence personnel and soldiers are to be deployed, alongside drones, helicopters and new patrol vessels.
The number of migrants crossing the Channel remains high, with around 41,000 crossings recorded last year. The British government nonetheless claims that joint measures have already prevented tens of thousands of crossing attempts.
The new funding mechanism is designed to ensure that payments are reduced if the measures fail to deliver results.