UK, EU border agency agree migration pact

LONDON

Britain and its former partners in the European Union have struck a deal to cooperate more on tackling illegal migration, in the latest sign of a thawing in relations between the two sides following Brexit.

The British government said in a statement on Feb. 23 that U.K. border agencies and Frontex, the EU's border and coast guard agency, will be able to access each other's intelligence to secure borders and tackle organized immigration crime. There will also be joint training, deployments of staff from one side to the other, and collaboration on research and development on new technologies.

The agreement doesn't include any bilateral returns agreement, which means neither side will be obliged to take any asylum-seekers under burden-sharing arrangements agreed on between the EU's 27 member states.

“Organized immigration crime and people smuggling are global challenges that require shared solutions and ambitions," U.K. Home Secretary James Cleverly said.

“Our landmark working arrangement between the U.K. and Frontex is another crucial step in tackling illegal migration, securing our borders and stopping the boats,” he added.

Relations between the two sides on an array of issues has been improving in the past few months, having been severely tested during the drawn-out divorce negotiations that followed Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the EU.

The split became final in early 2021 with the agreement of a bare-bones trade and cooperation deal, but relations grew even more testy under strongly pro-Brexit U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Rishi Sunak, the current prime minister who took the helm in October 2022, has quietly worked to improve the United Kingdom's relationship with its European neighbors