The United Kingdom and Germany signed a joint action plan on Tuesday to combat migrant smuggling gangs, as European interior and migration ministers convened in London to strengthen international cooperation.
The meeting brought together representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the European Commission, along with UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Britain’s border security commander Martin Hewitt.
The discussions, part of the Calais Group initiative, focused on addressing the rising issue of irregular migration, which has become a pressing concern across Europe. The UK, under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has pledged to intensify efforts against people smuggling networks, a commitment reinforced by the appointment of Hewitt, a former police chief, to lead the charge.
So far in 2024, nearly 34,000 undocumented migrants have crossed the English Channel in unsafe, makeshift vessels. Tragically, this year has become the deadliest on record, with at least 70 lives lost. In addition to irregular migration, net legal migration has reached historic highs, with an estimated 728,000 arrivals in the year leading up to June 2024.
During the London talks, Germany pledged to amend its laws to facilitate the prosecution of smugglers involved in small boat crossings from Northern France. Though Berlin has not formally confirmed the changes, Germany’s ambassador to London, Miguel Berger, acknowledged that smuggling networks operating between Belarus, Poland, and Germany are also responsible for transporting migrants across the Channel.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser emphasised the urgency of dismantling these smuggling operations. “By cramming people into inflatable boats under threats of violence and sending them across the Channel, these organisations put human lives at risk,” she stated. Faeser highlighted that many of the crossings are “planned in Germany” and stressed the need for joint efforts to counteract these dangerous activities.
The UK Home Office underscored the significance of the UK-German agreement, stating it would strengthen operational capabilities to disrupt smuggling networks. Germany will clarify its laws to explicitly criminalise migrant smuggling to the UK, giving prosecutors new tools to tackle the supply and storage of small boat equipment.
“This will allow the UK and Germany to better counter the continually evolving tactics of people smuggling gangs,” the Home Office said.
The ministers also discussed strategies to improve intelligence sharing, disrupt illicit financial flows, and prosecute smugglers more effectively. Representatives from Frontex, Europol, and the European Commission participated in the talks to further these objectives.
Belgium’s Nicole de Moor, France’s Bruno Retailleau, Germany’s Nancy Faeser, and Dutch minister Marjolein Faber joined Yvette Cooper in reaffirming the need for enhanced efforts to break the business model of smuggling networks and bring perpetrators to justice.
Prime Minister Starmer has called for increased global collaboration, likening the threat posed by smuggling networks to terrorism. “This is a global security threat, and it demands coordinated international action,” he said in November.
