UK and France agree to send some migrants arriving in Britain by boat back to France

LONDON — Britain and France agreed Thursday to a pilot plan that will send some migrants who cross the English Channel on small boats back to France as the U.K. government struggles to tamp down criticism that it has lost control of the country's borders.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the deal Thursday in London. While the initial program a limited number of people, U.K. officials suggest it is a major breakthrough because it sets a precedent that migrants who reach Britain illegally can be returned to France.

"There is no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intent, we can finally turn the tables,'' Starmer told reporters at a news conference. ''For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order.''

Under the agreement, Britain will send some of those who cross the Channel in small boats back to France while accepting an equal number migrants who are judged to have legitimate claims to asylum in the U.K.

Starmer had pushed for the arrangement, known as the ''one in, one out'' deal, in hopes of discouraging people from making the dangerous crossing. It is set to begin in weeks.

Small boat crossings have become a potent political issue in Britain, fueled by pictures of smugglers piling migrants into overcrowded, l eaky inflatable boats on the French coast. So far this year, more than 21,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats, up 56% from the same period last year.

The crossing is dangerous and many have died.

"I'm totally committed to make it work, because this is clearly our willingness and our common interest,'' Macron said. He added that the point of the pilot was a ''deterrence'' effect.

The measure announced Thursday is part of broader efforts to build closer cooperation with France, as well as countries further up the migrants' routes from Africa and the Middle East.

British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop boats once they have left the shore, and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies with knives in recent days.

Macron said earlier this week that he and Starmer would aim for ''tangible results'' on an issue that's ''a burden for our two countries.''

An issue that has dogged relations between France and that U.K.

As far back as 2001, the two countries were discussing ways to stop the flow of migrants, though at that time they were focused on people stowing away on trains and trucks entering Britain through the tunnel under the channel.

Over the following years, French authorities cleared out camps near Calais where thousands of migrants gathered before trying to reach Britain. Beefed up security sharply reduced the number of vehicle stowaways, but from about 2018 people-smugglers began offering migrants a new route by sea.

''You see that pattern again and again, where smuggling gangs and migrants try to find new ways to cross from France to the U.K.,'' said Mihnea Cuibus, a researcher at the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory. ''The authorities crack down on that, and then gradually you see migrants and gangs try to adapt to that. And it becomes a bit of a game of cat and mouse.''

Cooperation on stopping the boats stalled after Britain's acrimonious split from the European Union in 2020, but in the past few years the countries have struck several agreements that saw the U.K. pay France to increase police and drone patrols of the coast.

Britain's previous Conservative government came up with a contentious plan in 2022 to deport asylum-seekers arriving by boat to Rwanda. Critics called it unworkable and unethical, and it was scrapped by Starmer soon after he took office in July 2024.

Cuibus said irregular cross-channel migration would likely always be a challenge, but that the measures being discussed by Britain and France could make an impact, ''if they're implemented in the right way.

''But that's a big if,'' he said.

Summit yields deals on defense cooperation plans

The UK-France summit came after a three-day state visit that stressed the longstanding ties between the two countries despite the rupture caused by Britain's departure from the European Union. Punctuated by carriage rides, banquets and champagne toasts, the two leaders hugged and offered a picture of unity — a step forward to greater cooperation in the future.

The bonhomie was followed by concrete actions. The two leaders sealed deals on defense cooperation, including a pledge to coordinate their nuclear deterrents for the first time.

''Now as Europe's only nuclear powers and as leaders in NATO, we play a vital role in preserving the peace and security on this continent,'' Starmer said.

''From today, our adversaries will know that any extreme threat to this continent would prompt a response from our two nations,'' Starmer added.

Progress made on assisting Ukraine

Also Thursday Macron and Starmer visited a military base and dialed in to a planning meeting of the '' coalition of the willing, '' a U.K.- and France-initiated plan for an international force to guarantee a future ceasefire in Ukraine.

Americans attended the meeting for the first time, including retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who have co-sponsored a new sanctions bill against Russia, were also at the table.

The group agreed to set up its headquarters in Paris to facilitate a rapid deployment after the war ends.

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Associated Press Writer Brian Melley contributed.