UK, France call on EU to stem flow of migrants
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Britain and France yesterday urged other European Union countries to help them tackle the growing crisis in northern France caused by thousands of migrants seeking to make illegal and dangerous crossings into England.
The French port of Calais has become a focal point for a huge influx of migrants entering Europe to escape poverty and violence in the Middle East and Africa. Nightly attempts by large groups of the estimated 5,000 migrants in the town to force their way through the rail tunnel linking France and Britain have provoked public anger and disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries.
“There are no easy solutions — and it is not for the UK and France to solve these problems alone,” British interior minister Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve said in a joint letter published in the Sunday Telegraph.
“Many of those in Calais and attempting to cross the Channel have made their way there through Italy, Greece or other countries. That is why we are pushing other member states to address this problem at root.”
The joint plea came as Britain, where the crisis is heaping pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to take action, detailed some of the extra security measures agreed with French President Francois Hollande on Friday.
Cameron’s office said Britain will fund a boost in the number of security guards patrolling the French entrance to the underwater rail link. New fences, security cameras and infrared detectors will also be used to improve security.
French authorities have already increased the number of police in the area.
Britain and France said their efforts were not limited to beefing up security, and that they had led efforts to break up the criminal gangs who seek to profit from the flow of migrants.
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