Britain, France seek to tackle Calais migrant crisis

Britain, France seek to tackle Calais migrant crisis
By Euronews
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Britain and France plan to work together more closely to stem the flow of migrants into the UK. The two countries’ interior ministers agreed on

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Britain and France plan to work together more closely to stem the flow of migrants into the UK.

The two countries’ interior ministers agreed on Thursday to toughen up security measures in the northern French port of Calais.

Calais is a popular route for migrants wanting to enter Britain.

It is home to the French side of the Channel Tunnel and is the shortest sea crossing to the UK from France.

More French police will be deployed there, whilst Britain will spend more on search and detection equipment.

An estimated 3,000 migrants are waiting there, looking to enter the UK.

“This choice makes us look for and implement effective solutions to regulate the migratory flow, to host migrants in a humane way, to assume our obligations in terms of asylum but also, and I will emphasize this, to fight resolutely against the smuggling networks,” said French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

Both countries will also set up and run a join command centre.

British Home Secretary Theresa May said the situation in Calais “is the result of a global migration challenge.”

May said: “That is why our two countries will continue to work closely together to make sure the rest of the European Union, and the transit and source countries from which migrants are coming, are also playing their full part in solving this problem.”

More than 240,000 migrants have already entered Europe this year by crossing the Mediterranean, landing mainly on the shores of Greece and Italy.

Many of them are fleeing war or persecution in countries such as Syria or Afghanistan.

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