© AFP
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Saturday called on the British government to “fulfill its promise” to fund the fight against migrant smuggling on the French coast. At the same time, he attacked our country, because, according to him, half of the immigrants who want to cross from Calais and Dunkirk to the UK come from Belgium.
source: Belgian
“We need to negotiate a treaty that commits us to immigration issues,” Darmanin said during a visit to Loon, where migrants try to cross the Channel every day to reach England. He promised that France would follow up on this project during his six-month presidency of the European Union in January.
Prepare
The issue of border crossings has been a regular source of discontent between London and Paris for months. This year, twice as many migrants have ventured into the UK from France than in 2020. “The British government has not yet paid what it promised us,” Darmanin said. “We call on the British to honor their pledge of funding,” he added.
The United Kingdom pledged at the end of July to pay 62.7 million euros to France in 2021-2022 to fund strengthening of law enforcement on the French coast. However, according to the British press, the British Home Secretary, Priti Patel, threatened not to pay this amount in early September, given the record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel illegally.
Belgium
Now Darmanin is also threatening to drag our country into conflict. “Fifty percent of the migrants who want to cross from Calais and Dunkirk come from Belgium,” the French minister said. I have asked the governor to deploy monitoring personnel along the entire Belgian border, to catch smugglers and migrants who want to leave Belgium to reach northern France, in order to drain the well. This strategy has proven its worth. We ask our Belgian friends to do the same on their part.”
Home Secretary Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) responded to VTM Nieuws not entertaining To criticize Darmanin. The problem of immigration requires a European approach. It is not a solution to hold neighboring countries responsible.”
