“The priority of this summit is to reconnect,” said a French presidential adviser.
Paris/London:
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, hoping to deepen their cooperation on migration and Ukraine and spark a fresh start between the countries after years of Brexit rows.
In talks in Paris, Rishi Sunak, who became prime minister in October, will hope to capitalize on the renewed goodwill to end years of tensions over issues ranging from migration to fishing.
Bilateral ties, which have often been rocky since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016, have been strengthened by the countries’ support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, and the meeting was seen as an opportunity to further deepen ties. is seen as
“The priority of this summit is to reconnect,” said a French presidential adviser.
The meeting also comes as relations between the UK and the EU have also improved in the light of the Windsor Framework – a new agreement aimed at fixing problems with Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangement.
Later this month, King Charles will also visit France on his first state visit as monarch.
Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron struck up a personal rapport during their first face-to-face meeting at the COP27 summit in Egypt in November. Two weeks after Rishi Sunak became prime minister, their heated relationship was dubbed “le bromance” in British newspapers. Labeled.
Rishi Sunak has called for a reset with France after relations soured under his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, and working with Paris to deal with huge numbers of migrants arriving in southern England in small boats are wanting
In November, Britain and France signed a 72.2 million euro ($74.5 million) deal to step up efforts to stop illegal migrants making the dangerous journey across the Channel.
The issue is also expected to top the agenda of Friday’s meeting, with Sunak expected to raise the issue to do more to stop the crossing.
A source at Number 10, the Prime Minister’s Office, said it was vital London could work with Paris on the global challenge of migration, to step up patrols and crack down on gangs operating boats.
“This Friday’s summit will be an opportunity to do just that,” the source said.
fighter jets
Britain on Tuesday detailed a new law banning the entry of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel, a proposal some charities say could be impractical and criminalize the efforts of thousands of genuine refugees. Could
Asked about the British government’s announcement on the small boats, French officials said it did not change the fact that there has been no bilateral agreement on how to readmit migrants to France since Brexit.
An official said, “At this stage we do not see any major impact for the French coasts. It is not that we had any legal instrument since Brexit which helped us to control the flow of migrants between the two coasts “
Analysts said the migrant issue was not as hot a political issue in France as it is in Britain.
“But Paris knows this is an incredibly salient issue for the PM, but also for his party, the Labor Party and many Britons,” said Georgina Wright, an analyst at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. “Some new things will be announced but they will probably be less than what London is expecting.”
Elysee advisers say the French are keen to deepen defense ties, including through joint training of Ukrainian troops, and also to make their two competing future fighter jet programmes, FCAS and Tempest, compatible.
He said cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, with a British ship joining French naval patrols in the region would also be part of the summit’s main points, as would nuclear energy, funding for the EDF’s Sizewell Sea nuclear project in Britain. Will be including
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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