UK – France: Prioritize strengthening security at the Channel Tunnel

(Baonghean.vn) - On Sunday, August 2, in a joint statement between the French Interior Minister and his British counterpart, the two countries are currently giving "top priority" to measures to resolve the issue of migrants trying to reach the UK through the Channel Tunnel located in Calais, France.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and British Home Secretary Theresa May said: "The two governments are united and determined to end illegal immigration to the UK via Calais, France."

Channel Tunnel.

Earlier, in a meeting between the two ministers on July 28, the UK announced that it would spend an additional 10 million euros to strengthen security at Eurotunnel and Coquelles, which have become the target of thousands of illegal immigrants in recent days. The two countries also built new fences and sent reinforcements to the Coquelles area of ​​Calais to prevent illegal immigration to the UK.

Faced with the above problem, Mrs. May and Mr. Cazeneuve said that this requires the coordination of all European countries, not just the UK and France. Because Calais is just a stepping stone for immigrants to the UK and to reach Calais, they need to go through countries such as Italy, Greece as well as some other European countries. Therefore, according to the two ministers, countries need to work together to come up with sustainable measures to reduce the number of people migrating from Africa to Europe for economic reasons.

French police in Calais are preventing migrants from « entering » the Channel Tunnel to reach Britain.

Since early June, authorities have been strengthening barriers and barbed wire around the Channel Tunnel at Calais to prevent migrants from climbing or jumping off cargo ships to illegally enter the UK. Despite the increased security measures, the number of migrants “infiltrating” cargo ships has increased. In addition, in recent years, dozens of migrants have died while trying to cross the Channel Tunnel.

Chu Thanh

(according to Le Monde)