"Rishi should give President Macron and Ursula von der Leyen a £23.6bn bill"

UK signs toothless agreement with EU over illegal migrants

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2024

Facts4EU.Org sheds light on more EU spin, as it continues to refuse to take back its 100,000+ illegal migrants

On Friday (23 Feb 2024) in London, the EU signed a new ‘working arrangement’ with the UK government regarding its failure to control its own borders. Once again the EU has refused to agree to take back the 100,000+ of its illegal migrants who have been able to cross from the EU into the UK.

This new agreement is about ‘co-operation’ between the border forces – something which might be expected to happen anyway, without the need for signing any agreement.

Present at the London meeting were EU Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens and his counterpart, the Director General of the UK Border Force, Phil Douglas.

Witnessing this were the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and UK Home Secretary James Cleverly.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The illegal migrant saga continues, with no help from the EU

All of this has been caused by inaction from Brussels

Latest EU border deal results in zero returns
The UK continues to receive the EU’s illegal migrants
This is now costing the British people £2.92bn per year in hotel costs alone

[Source : The Home Office, Feb 2024.]

Why isn’t Rishi Sunak insisting?

The conclusion of this ‘working arrangement’ follows the announcement by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 16 May 2023 in Reykjavik, in the margins of the last Council of Europe Summit.

There has been no statement from No.10 demanding that the EU takes back its 100,000+ illegal migrants whom the French authorities have allowed to depart from French shores and then be escorted by the French navy across the English Channel to United Kingdom waters. Instead we have this weak statement which will make little difference to the numbers crossing the Channel.

Here is the verbiage from the EU Commission

“This working arrangement provides a long-term framework for close cooperation between Frontex and the UK authorities to tackle illegal migration and cross-border crime, in full compliance with the EU and UK's international human rights obligations.
“It establishes a framework for mutually beneficial cooperation and delivers across a range of operational areas in the area of border management, including situational awareness and risk analysis, information exchange, training, capacity-building and expertise sharing in the area of return and border management, as well as technical and operational cooperation (including the possibility to deploy staff on both sides for observation, coordination or advisory purposes). Additionally, cooperation on research and innovation projects will facilitate the exchange of cutting-edge knowledge to support the Agency's activities. The working arrangement also provides for the opportunity to exchange liaison officers, further boosting the effectiveness of this cooperation between the EU and the UK.”

In short, lots of talk but no action. There is no agreement for the EU to take back their illegal migrants.

The EU is costing the British people a small fortune

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The exponential rise in the cost to the UK of housing Macron's migrants

2021-2022 : £2.28bn
2022-2023 : £3.6bn
2023-2024 : £6.0bn (extrapolated estimate)
2025-2026 : £11.7bn (official Home Office estimate)
TOTAL : £23.6bn (and this does not include the period 2018-2021)

[Sources : National Audit Office | Home Office | House of Commons Library.]

It should be noted that this latest Home Office estimate for 2025-2026 is not far short of the sum which the United Kingdom was paying in net contributions to the EU budget while it was still a member.

Observations

Since becoming PM, Rishi Sunak has given in over Northern Ireland, with the 'Windsor Framework'. He has given in on military cooperation. Most recently he has given in over membership of the EU's 'Horizon Europe' science project. When he is going to start making any deals conditional on the EU taking its illegal migrants back?

Here’s an idea

The next time Rishi Sunak meets either Ursula von der Leyen or President Macron, he should hand them an envelope containing an invoice as follows:-

“For the cost of housing your illegal migrants, 2021-2026

"The sum of £23.6bn

"Payable immediately.”

Maybe that might focus a few minds in Brussels and Paris.

Facts4EU.Org really, really needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any payment goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to become members, to support this work. Could this be you, today? It's quick and easy, we give you a choice of two highly secure payment providers, and we do NOT ask you for further support if you pay once. We just hope you keep supporting us. Your membership stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

Please don't assume that other people will keep us going - we don't receive enough to survive and we need your help today. Could you help us? We rely 100% on public contributions from readers like you.

If you believe in a fully-free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, please join now by clicking on one of the links below or you can use our Support page here. You will receive a personal, friendly ‘thank you’ from a member of our team within 48 hours. Thank you.

[ Sources: EU Commission | National Audit Office | Home Office ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sun 25 Feb 2024

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget actually to post your message after you have previewed it!

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 9

1. The Brexit Facts4EU.Org Team , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 03:17:

We remind readers kindly to keep their comments on topic and not to include links or search terms.
Secondly, we are continuously working on a number of forthcoming reports and these take time to produce. We're well aware of news and developments as we monitor all EU bodies closely. Our aim is to provide readers with a wide variety of information. The fact that we may not cover a particular story on a given day does not mean we aren't researching it. We're grateful for your understanding.
Finally, thank you to those readers who alerted us to the fact that our contact form has stopped working. This was caused by an 'upgrade' carried out by our hosting company. While we fix this, please just type our email address into your mail client if you wish to contact us. Thank you.

2. The Brexit Facts4EU.Org Team , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 03:35:

A message from our Chairman :-
"We've noticed a tendency for one of two commenters to start to criticise us. When this criticism comes from someone who uses our site daily and yet has not once made any donation towards our work, this can be demotivating for the team. I would merely observe that if a commenter feels this way he could always join the team, members of which have started work at 3am, seven days-a-week, for the last eight years.
"Comments like those are akin to inviting yourself round to a neighbour's house and then criticising your host's offering of food and drink, all the while availing yourself freely of his or her generosity.
"Unlike the Rejoin campaign, none of our volunteers are salaried and because donations are so low they only get something far below the minimum wage.
"A little courtesy - which most readers give happily - would not go amiss. Thank you."

3. Sparky , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 07:55:

Immigration was a significant deciding factor in the vote to leave the EU, see YouGov "the most important issues facing the country". The filters show this as a significant issue for Leave voters and for older demographics. Illegal immigration has increased massively since leaving the EU, see Gov.UK "Irregular migration to the UK, year ending June 2023".
.
It is only by working with neighbours that the UK may be able to stop the boats, unfortunately because the UK is outside the EU it now has limited influence . This new measure could have an impact. Again looking at the main sources of illegal migration it tends to come from countries where the UK has got involved led by the USA and made those countries worse not better.
.
I have seen Richard Tice suggest using SOLAS which is primarily about safety of ships and UNCLOS which is primarily about territorial waters as a legal means to return immigrants in boats to France but these seem to be doubtful legal solutions. Apart from being doubtful legal solutions, currently boat migrants refuse to get into French boats, if UK boats start to return them to France they will refuse to get in UK boats and continue to the beaches or drown trying to do so.

4. Old Albion , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 08:14:

'Sparky' I hope you have read the first two comments on here.
Regaining our sovereignty was number one in the minds of 'leavers'
Immigration both illegal and legal is out of control. Not because we left the EU. Indeed that should have made controlling immigration much easier with the ending of 'free movement' to the UK. The problem is caused entirely by a weak government hamstrung by 'Human rights' laws in all it's forms.

5. Have You Wondered , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 08:47:

.I would suggest that with the amount of parliamentary time, political upheaval, economic concern, social unrest, medical provision, depleting the housing stock and concern over cultural change (also in the EU) that the immigration issue comes within Article 15.
.
Can the UK (and European) predicament with the ECHR be resolved from within the convention itself?
.
ECHR ARTICLE 15
Derogation in time of emergency
1. In time of war or other public emergency threatening the
life of the nation any High Contracting Party may take measures
derogating from its obligations under this Convention to the extent
strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that
such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under
international law.
.

6. LuxuryBalloon , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 10:31:

I am surprised how many illegal immigrants came across the channel in dinghies since we left the EU. This aspect of Brexit has certainly not worked out.

7. terence patrick hewett , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 11:40:

@LB
Nothing to do with Brexit: everything to do with government. But governments can be voted out: this particular pack of governmental quislings, together with their corrupted political party, are well on the way to annihilation.

8. Gazzablack , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 13:01:

6, Lux
I'm surprised how many illegal migrants have crossed the channel since Marvel released "Captain America - Civil War"
.
You see, correlation shouldn't be mistaken for causality

9. Sparky , Sunday, February 25, 2024, 15:38:

4 OA. Yes I have thanks, have you? Sovereignty may have been for you but immigration was the overriding issue in the vote to leave.
.
8 G. Captain America - Civil War was released in 2016. Dune would be a better choice, released in 2021 and coincided with the end of the transition period and a massive increase in irregular immigration.

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.