UK to Pay Full Cost of Transporting Migrants Under "One in, One out" Deal with France

Strategic Insights -

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's government has agreed to a deal with France, which will see the UK return one migrant who has entered the country irregularly on a small boat from France, in exchange for taking another asylum seeker whose claim is expected to have a greater chance of success. The scheme, officially launched yesterday, will see the UK pay the full cost of transporting migrants, both those being sent back to France and those being brought to the UK. The deal aims to stem the flow of migrants across the Channel, with more than 25,000 people arriving on small boats in the first six months of this year.

Key Takeaways:

  • The UK will pay the full cost of transporting migrants under the "one in, one out" deal with France, including the cost of transporting small boat migrants back to France and bringing asylum seekers deemed to have a greater chance of success across the channel.
  • The deal allows the UK to return one migrant who has entered the country irregularly on a small boat from France, in exchange for taking another asylum seeker whose claim is expected to have a greater chance of success.
  • The agreement states that the number of people exchanged between the two countries will be "regularly balanced", with initial numbers expected to be low, around 50 a week, with hopes they will increase quickly.
  • The deal includes a commitment to create a monitoring committee with the European Commission to co-ordinate on individual cases that would fall under the Dublin rules.
  • The agreement expires next June, with an option to extend it.
  • More than 25,000 people arrived on small boats in the first six months of this year, the highest number on record at this stage in the year.
  • The European Commission has welcomed the deal as a way of preventing smuggling across the Channel.

Statistics:

  • 25,000: The number of people who arrived on small boats in the first six months of this year.
  • 50: The initial number of people expected to be exchanged between the UK and France each week under the deal.
  • June 2024: The expiration date of the deal, with an option to extend it.

Sources:

  • "The UK will pay the full cost of transporting migrants under its new 'one in, one out' deal with France", [The Times](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-migrants-france-channel-8gs462cr9)
  • "UK-France migrant deal: 'One in, one out' scheme to start in coming weeks", [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/18/uk-france-migrant-deal-one-in-one-out-scheme)
  • "EU welcomes UK-France migrant deal", [Euractiv](https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/eu-welcomes-uk-france-migrant-deal/)