As the UK and France continue to look for a solution to the migrant crisis at Calais, it has been announced the British taxpayer will pick up the bill for migrants to be flown home from the French port.
Asylum processing facilities intended to fast track applications for refugee status in France will also be part-funded by Britain in addition to the flight deal which the Home Office is still ‘working out’.
Flights from France returning migrants to their home countries are already run several times a month. As part of the proposed Anglo-French agreement signed yesterday in Calais aimed at addressing the migrant crisis, the UK has admitted it will now share the transport costs.
The Times reports the shared cost deal reached by British Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart, Bernard Cazeneuve, will raise questions over why Britain should be paying for what many see as a French problem, especially as the government still appears to be confused by the mechanics of the agreement.
The Home Office has not said how joint arrangements for the flights will work. In addition it has been unable to explain the financial details of the deal.
Indeed the government initially insisted Britain will only be giving logistical support to the French. In a sign that the deal may be rushed and incomplete the Home Office only later admitted direct financial help will be given to the French. A spokeswoman for the British government explained: “We are still working this out.”
In a separate measure, the French and British governments will pool financial resources for migrant travel document processing. Britain will spend £7.1 million in France over two years on proposals that include processing facilities to speed up asylum claims and visits by border force officers to the ‘Jungle’ migrant camp on the outskirts of Calais.
The Times reports the border force teams will be telling migrants “Britain is not a land of milk and honey.” In order to do this the British government will provide Pashtun, Tamil and Ethiopian language specialists, whereas France will provide Albanian, Ukrainian, Arabic and Kurdish translators. The £7.1 million will also be applied in migrants’ home countries for education and training to deter people leaving in the first place.
It is also reported that extra security at ports in Belgium and the Netherlands is going to be needed. As Breitbart London previously reported tightening security at Calais may simply shift the migrant crisis, forcing migrants and human traffickers to find other routes into Britain. As Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said earlier this week, “crime always seeks the path of least resistance.”
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