British, French leaders vow to jointly tackle illegal immigration

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street on Wednesday, as the pair pledged to jointly crack down on illegal immigration.

"The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions," according to a statement released by Downing Street.

"The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs," said the statement.

Despite joint funding and cooperation, more than 20,000 people have arrived in Britain from France via small boats crossing the English Channel so far this year, marking a 50 percent increase on the same period in 2024.

Both Macron and Starmer are under immense pressure at home from a surge of far-right and anti-immigration political discourse. In his speech at the British parliament on Tuesday, Macron described the issue as "a burden" for both countries. It remains unclear if the two sides will reach a new deal to tackle illegal migration during Macron's three-day visit.

During their meeting on Wednesday, the leaders also discussed joint efforts to deepen their partnership further — from strengthening defense collaboration to increasing bilateral trade and investment.

A UK-France Summit is scheduled to take place on Thursday, with both sides aiming for concrete progress on these areas, according to the statement.

Macron kicked off his state visit to Britain on Tuesday, the first such visit by a French president since 2008. He is also the first European Union head of state to make a state visit to Britain since Brexit.