Britain, Belgium vow to work more closely on migration

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Britain, Belgium vow to work more closely on migration

On November 29, 2021, inflatable boats used by migrants who crossed the English Channel from France are secured by a Port of Dover official in the marina in Dover, Britain. REUTERS Peter Nicholls File Photo

BRUSSELS, Nov 30 Reuters -- Belgium and Britain said on Tuesday they will cooperate more closely to fight illegal migration, days after France snubbed Britain and said it needed to get serious before talks on the matter could resume.

After 27 people died trying to cross the Channel last week, France and Britain were already at loggerheads over immigration, post-Brexit trading rules and fishing rights. On Sunday, France cancelled an invitation to Britain's interior minister Priti Patel to meet with EU counterparts, including Belgium, to discuss the issue, saying Britain was not serious in its response to the crisis.

Britain and Belgium said on Tuesday that they were ready to work more closely on the matter, as part of a broader declaration on bilateral cooperation.

In cooperation with neighbouring countries, we will improve working on illegal flows, including to disrupt human trafficking and human smuggling networks and prevent loss of life, the statement read.

We will work to encourage multilateral dialogue with our neighbours in order to prevent illegal sea crossings to the UK, including by cooperation, intelligence sharing, surveillance and preventing secondary movements within the Schengen area. The number of migrants crossing the Channel has increased to 25,776 in 2021, up from 8,461 in 2020 and 1,835 in 2019 according to figures compiled by the BBC using Home Office data.

Britain accuses France of not doing enough to stem the flow because of the spike in numbers. Paris says once migrants reach the shores of the channel, it is too late to prevent them crossing.