British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Monday on the sidelines of COP27 in Egypt that he wanted to “cooperate closely” with France on immigration, Downing Street confirming that an agreement on the issue was being finalized.
Becoming Prime Minister two weeks ago, Rishi Sunak met the French President on Monday for the first time since taking office.
“It was great to meet President Macron to talk not only about the fight against illegal immigration but also about other areas in which we want to cooperate closely with the French,” said the British leader after the interview.
After a period of tension between London and Paris, the government of Rishi Sunak, who became Prime Minister against a backdrop of political crisis after the resignations of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, seems to be adopting a more conciliatory tone towards France.
The French president invited Mr. Sunak to a conference on Ukraine
Emmanuel Macron and Rishi Sunak had already decided during a telephone interview at the end of October to cooperate more on immigration, while nearly 40,000 people have already risked their lives crossing the Channel on small boats since the start of the year, a record.
It is a “complex problem” which “is not going to be solved overnight”, underlined Mr Sunak as his teams come under pressure to manage the influx of migrants, with recent revelations concerning an overcrowded reception center and the throwing of incendiary devices at another center near Dover.
“I think there is an opportunity to be seized to work together, not only with the French but with other countries as well”, estimated Mr. Sunak, specifying that he would give more details “in the coming weeks”. .
In London, a spokesperson for Downing Street confirmed that “an agreement is being discussed” and that it is “in the process of being finalized”.
For its part, however, the Elysée simply asserted that MM. Macron and Sunak would “stay in touch to advance coordination between the two countries in the face of the challenge of irregular migration”.
The French president also invited Mr. Sunak to a conference on Ukraine on December 13 in Paris.