Illegal immigration has made Anglo-French relations worse

Recently, the English Channel has been quite quiet. With the surge in the number of illegal immigrants entering France, the british and French are in constant conflict. The British government believes that the French have not done enough to stop the stowaways, while the French government has once again accused the British of not keeping their promises and not providing financial support. For some time, the fisheries dispute between Britain and France over Brexit has continued to ferment, and the rift in the submarine contract caused by the "AUKUS" signed by the United States, Britain and Australia has not been repaired. The issue of illegal immigration will undoubtedly make the relations between Britain and France worse.

"Accountability" and "Dunning"

On October 10, local time, another ship full of illegal immigrants docked in Kent, England. By the end of September, 17,085 migrants had entered the UK from France, up from just 8,417 for the entire year last year.

According to The Sky News, in recent years, many illegal immigrants have tried to travel to the UK from northern France. In order to solve the problem of illegal smuggling, the French side has invested a lot of financial and manpower. According to the previously agreed results, the British side needs to pay about 63 million euros (about 470 million yuan) to the French side. But as of now, the French side said that "not a penny has been received.".

French Interior Minister Dalmanin said the French side was busy cracking down on smuggling and that the British side should "keep its promises and provide funds." He said French law enforcement had successfully intercepted 75 percent of the stowaway boats in the English Channel, and the interception rate was expected to rise to 100 percent if the British pledged funds were in place.

French media "France24" reported that in response to the sharp increase in the number of smugglers, the Johnson government, determined to fulfill its promise to "regain control of our borders", once again "held accountable" to the French. British Home Secretary Patel warned the French side that unless more illegal immigrants can be prevented from entering the UK, the British side will not pay the corresponding fees to the French side.

Britain's Conservative MP and Commerce Secretary Kwaten wants to downplay the current dispute with France. On Oct. 10, he told Sky News, "So far, our cooperation with the French side has been very effective. He pointed out that with the joint efforts of Britain and France, nearly 300 stowaways have been arrested and about 13,500 people have been prevented from entering the country illegally.

"Britain and France have always been conflicted about preventing illegal immigrants from crossing the English Channel, which is a complex old problem that is not easy to solve." Yan Jin, executive director of the Center for European Studies at Chinese Min University, told this newspaper that britain and France blame each other, including both financial problems and unfavorable cooperation between the two sides.

"Hot potato"

"The UK has always been a very popular destination for illegal immigrants in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia." Qu Bing, an associate researcher at the European Institute of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told this newspaper that for many years, France has sometimes adopted a tacit and supportive attitude toward illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel to Britain. In fact, the French government is also very troubled by the problem of illegal immigration, and is happy to see illegal immigrants leave. The influx of illegal immigrants involves a range of problems, such as policing and relief, and is a serious social burden. No one wants to leave the "hot potato" in their own hands.

Talking about the reasons for the sharp increase in illegal immigration in the UK this year, Yan Jin analyzed that illegal immigrants smuggled from France to the UK often hide in trucks, ferries or take small boats through the English Channel. Due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, cross-sea traffic between Britain and France has been interrupted or reduced. This year, with the promotion of the vaccine, the epidemic in the UK and France has gradually stabilized, and the interrupted traffic and people movement have gradually resumed. The epidemic has slowed down, the borders have been relaxed, and a large number of refugees have flocked to the city. In addition, the United Kingdom has a more relaxed and attractive welfare system, and there is no identity card system, and illegal immigrants are more likely to be hidden.

Regarding the mutual choking between Britain and France, Yan Jin believes that not long ago, the United States, Britain and Australia formed an "AUKUS", which is also the fuse of tension between Britain and France. Britain, along with the United States, supported Australia in building nuclear submarines, stealing France's big deals and causing French outrage. It is not excluded that France, in retaliation for the "stabbing" of the British in the back, "turned a blind eye" to the management of illegal immigration.

Both the symptoms and the root causes need to be treated

For many years, the problem of illegal immigration caused by the refugee problem has plagued Europe and is difficult to cure.

"Now, the British government is forced to step up its crackdown on illegal immigration." Qu Bing said that in July this year, the British government has submitted a nationality and border bill to Parliament, giving British border law enforcement officers greater powers to prevent illegal immigrants from landing on the British coast. At present, although the bill has not yet completed the legislative process, it has buried the hidden danger of conflict with other European countries. For example, the bill requires that the UK take steps to try to repatriate illegal migrants who have applied for asylum in the UK to a third-party safe country. This arrangement of dumping the burden of illegal immigration on other countries is bound to cause disputes.

How to solve the problem of illegal immigration at its root? "This will require coordinated action across Europe, not just a few direct stakeholders." Qu Bing believes that now that the UK has left the EU, it has increased the difficulty of negotiating with EU countries to solve the problem of illegal immigration.

Yan Jin believes that European countries need to treat both the symptoms and the root causes: on the one hand, to solve the soil that breeds refugees from the source, reduce conflicts and wars, and promote local economic and social development; on the other hand, the EU strengthens coordination in policies such as refugee screening, asylum, and repatriation, reduces differences, and responds together to minimize the risk of refugees becoming illegal immigrants.

Reporter: Jia Pingfan

Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition