Latest news with #coalitionOfTheWilling
Al Arabiya
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Britain and france try again to tackle english channel migrant crossings
After the bonhomie and banquets of a formal state visit, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron are turning to a topic that has stymied successive British and French governments: how to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. At a UK-France summit on Thursday that caps Macron's three-day stay, senior officials from the two countries will try to seal deals on economic growth, defense cooperation, and – perhaps trickiest of all – unauthorized migration. Macron and Starmer also will visit a military base and dial in to a planning meeting of the 'coalition of the willing,' a UK- and France-backed plan for an international force to guarantee a future ceasefire in Ukraine. During a meeting inside 10 Downing St. on Wednesday, the two leaders agreed that tackling small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of people-smuggling gangs, Starmer's office said. It said they would aim for concrete progress on Thursday. Channel crossings are a longstanding challenge. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries but sees thousands of very visible arrivals each year as migrants cross the 20-mile (32 kilometer) channel from northern France in small overcrowded boats. About 37000 people were detected crossing the channel in 2024, and more than 20000 made the crossing in the first six months of 2025, up by about 50 percent from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died trying to reach the English coast. Britain and France agree the dangerous and unregulated crossings are a problem but have long differed on how to address it. The UK wants France to do more to stop boats leaving the beaches and has paid the Paris government hundreds of millions of pounds (dollars, euros) to increase patrols and share intelligence in an attempt to disrupt the smuggling gangs. 'We share information to a much greater extent than was the case before,' Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Wednesday. 'We've got a new specialist intelligence unit in Dunkirk, and we're the first government to persuade the French to review their laws and tactics on the north coast to take more effective action.' Macron says Britain must address pull factors like the perception it is easy for unauthorized migrants to find work in the UK. Many migrants also want to reach Britain because they have friends or family there or because they speak English. Solutions have proved elusive. As far back as 2001, the two countries were discussing ways to stop migrants stowing away on trains and trucks using the tunnel under the channel. Over the following years, French authorities cleared out camps near Calais where thousands of migrants gathered before trying to reach Britain. Beefed up security sharply reduced the number of vehicle stowaways, but from about 2018, people-smugglers offered migrants a new route by sea. 'You see that pattern again and again where smuggling gangs and migrants try to find new ways to cross from France to the UK,' said Mihnea Cuibus, a researcher at the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory. 'The authorities crack down on that, and then gradually you see migrants and gangs try to adapt to that. And it becomes a bit of a game of cat and mouse.' Cooperation on stopping the boats stalled after Britain's acrimonious split from the European Union in 2020, but in the past few years, the countries have struck several agreements that saw the UK pay France to increase police and drone patrols of the coast. Britain's previous Conservative government came up with a contentious plan in 2022 to deport asylum-seekers arriving by boat to Rwanda. Critics called it unworkable and unethical, and it was scrapped by Starmer soon after he took office in July 2024. Britain hopes for a returns deal with France. Starmer is staking success on closer cooperation with France and with countries further up the migrants' routes from Africa and the Middle East. British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop boats once they have left the shore and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies with knives in recent days. France is also considering a UK proposal for a one-in one-out deal that would see France take back some migrants who reached Britain in return for the UK accepting migrants seeking to join relatives in Britain. Macron said the leaders would aim for tangible results on an issue that's a burden for our two countries. Cuibus said irregular cross-channel migration would likely always be a challenge but that the measures being discussed by Britain and France could make an impact if they're implemented in the right way. 'But that's a big if,' he said.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Emmanuel Macron says Europeans will ‘never abandon Ukraine'
The French president said Britain and France must work together to protect the international order, in an address to the UK parliament on Tuesday. Macron was welcomed to Britain by King Charles for the first state visit by a European leader since Brexit. During his speech to parliament, the French leader said Europe would never abandon Ukraine, adding that Britain and France would work with the 'coalition of the willing' until the last minute to secure a ceasefire. He also spoke of a need for Britain and France to reduce risks posed by relying too much on the United States and China for trade
Al Arabiya
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
French President Macron says Europe will never abandon Ukraine
Europe will never abandon Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the British parliament on Tuesday, adding that Britain and France will work with the 'coalition of the willing' until the last minute to secure a ceasefire. 'We will fight till the very last minute in order to get the ceasefire, in order to start the negotiations to build this robust and sustainable peace, because this is our security and our principles together which are at stake in Ukraine,' Macron said.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US and European stances on pressuring Russia are converging again, says Estonia's PM
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, who attended the latest meeting of the coalition of the willing via video link, has stated that joint pressure on Russia has finally commenced. Source: Estonian public broadcaster ERR, citing Michal, as reported by European Pravda Details: Michal noted that the US and European stances on pressuring Russia are once again converging. Quote: "We've probably reached a point where the United States, with its desire for a 30-day ceasefire and its ability to enforce sanctions, and Europe and Ukraine may be starting to act together, and the point of application of this pressure is now shifting towards Russia." Details: He pointed out that US President Donald Trump's administration is "growing a tad impatient with these Russian games". Background: Following the summit on 10 May, the coalition of the willing demanded that Russia agree to an unconditional ceasefire for 30 days starting 12 May. In turn, Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin claimed that he is ready for "direct talks" with Kyiv in Istanbul on Thursday 15 May. However, he did not mention the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. European Pravda reported that the EU and the US plan to sharply tighten sanctions against Russia if Putin rejects the ceasefire. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Türkiye expresses readiness to monitor possible ceasefire in Ukraine
Türkiye is prepared to participate in monitoring compliance with a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Source: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who attended an online meeting of the coalition of the willing in Kyiv, reports European Pravda with reference to Anadolu Details: During the online meeting, Hakan Fidan reaffirmed Türkiye's commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, expressing Ankara's support for an unconditional ceasefire. He reiterated that Ankara stands firmly in favour of establishing an unconditional ceasefire in the ongoing conflict and is committed to supporting efforts to achieve this. "Fidan also expressed Türkiye's readiness to fulfill its responsibilities in monitoring a ceasefire if one is established for the conflict, which is now in its fourth year," the statement said. Background: Following their summit on 10 May, the coalition of the willing has demanded that Russia agree to an unconditional ceasefire for 30 days starting 12 May. The EU and the US plan to tighten sanctions against Russia if Putin rejects the ceasefire. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
