Emmanuel Macron says EU-wide migration agreement is possible

October 7, 2022

‘Solve Ulster problem and we’ll agree migrant deal’: Emmanuel Macron says EU-wide migration agreement is possible… if Liz Truss backs down on Northern Ireland

France will allow Britain to strike an EU-wide migration deal conditionally
However senior French officials say truss must back down on Ulster Brexit row
The Government is trying to rewrite a key part of the Northern Ireland Protocol
A move by Truss to trigger Article 16 would ramp up the tensions with Brussels

France will allow Britain to strike an EU-wide migration deal only if Liz Truss backs down in the long-running Brexit row over Northern Ireland.

Senior French officials told the Daily Mail last night that a pact with Brussels on dealing with asylum-seekers could be on offer if both sides end the spat over trade rules for Ulster.

The Government has been trying to unilaterally rewrite a key part of the Brexit deal with Brussels, the Northern Ireland Protocol, that effectively leaves the province behind in the EU’s single market.

‘It depends on what happens with the Protocol. Everything is a bit linked to Article 16,’ said one source close to French president Emmanuel Macron.

Article 16 allows either side to take unilateral action if it deems the post-Brexit agreement is having a strongly negative impact on their interests.

Senior French officials told the Daily Mail last night that a pact with Brussels on dealing with asylum-seekers could be on offer if both sides end the spat over trade rules for Ulster

A move to trigger it would ramp up tensions with Brussels, and could ultimately lead to a trade war, with the EU possibly suspending parts of the trade deal that removed tariffs and quotas for goods.

But on September 15, Miss Truss instead extended grace periods agreed by the EU and UK in 2020 to allow lighter touch controls on trade between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland.

The comments came at a 44-nation European summit in Prague, first proposed by Mr Macron, which discussed the war in Ukraine, the economic crisis and illegal migration.

During the Brexit talks two years ago, Eurocrats repeatedly rejected British requests that would have allowed the Government to return failed asylum-seekers to the EU.

European diplomats told the Mail that a possible breakthrough on Northern Ireland makes it more likely that Downing Street could strike a deal on migration with Brussels.

A senior EU diplomat working directly on relations with the UK said the issue had been ‘a showstopper’ when it came to ties with Britain. ‘The Northern Ireland Protocol has been stopping progress on all other areas of cooperation,’ the diplomat said. ‘If we can solve that, we can move forward on migration.’

In a sign the relationship between Britain and France is on the mend, Miss Truss described Mr Macron as ‘a friend’ as the pair vowed to work together to crack down on cross-Channel smugglers.

The two leaders said they had ‘agreed to deepen cooperation on illegal migration within the bounds of international law, to tackle criminal groups trafficking people across Europe, ending in dangerous journeys across the Channel’.

Talks between Home Secretary Suella Braverman and French interior minister Gerald Darmanin are set to restart within the next few days on how to prevent migrant boats from leaving France bound for Britain. The focus will be on practical measures to disrupt the departures and smash trafficking rings.

‘We will continue to cooperate with the British to prevent cross-Channel flows in accordance with international law,’ said a top aide to Mr Darmanin. ‘We are in favour of a migration agreement with Britain, but it only makes sense in a UK/EU format.’

More than 30,000 people have made the crossing in small boats this year, already surpassing last year’s record of 28,526.

Source: Read Full Article