- New investment for upstream deterrence projects in North
Africa to prevent dangerous journeys fuelled by criminal
smuggling gangs.
- Foreign Secretary agrees joint plan between the UK
and Greece to tackle illegal migration.
- UK support for Greek law enforcement in fight against
organised immigration crime.
The UK will ramp up work with Greece to strengthen border
security and combat people-smuggling gangs as part of a new
migration pact signed today by , as the UK doubles down on
its whole of Government approach to tackling illegal migration.
Foreign Secretary, , will meet with her Greek
opposite number, George Gerapetritis, in Athens. She will forge a
new partnership with Greece bringing together the Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office, the Home Office and their
Greek counterparts to set in motion even greater cooperation on
tackling illegal migration – creating the opportunity for
closer collaboration across areas like returns, law enforcement
and tackling the drivers of migration.
The UK will provide training to help Greek law enforcement fight
organised immigration crime and disrupt the small boats supply
chain.
Recent collaboration on operations with the NCA has included a
successful investigation initiated by the Greek authorities
targeting an Athens-based network involved in migrant smuggling
and document fraud. Officers made eight arrests and raided a
travel agency used by the main suspect, dismantling a fully
equipped forgery lab and seizing hundreds of counterfeit
documents, passport components, biometric data sets, forgery
equipment with two high-end laser printers, mobile phones,
vehicles, drugs and over EUR 68 000 in cash.
Foreign Secretary said:
“Illegal and dangerous boat crossings are undermining border
security in both the Channel and the Mediterranean. Tackling and
preventing illegal migration and going after the
multimillion-pound criminal smuggler gangs is a top priority for
both the UK and Greece.
“Organised immigration crime is a global threat
– so we are taking a whole government approach. Here in
the Foreign Office we are increasing our work with
other countries to tackle this issue at every stage
of the people smuggling routes into
Europe.
“Our new agreement with Greece will help
us tackle the criminal smuggling gangs upstream
exploiting vulnerable people and driving dangerous crossings,
helping to address these problems before they reach our
shores.”
The FCDO is also stepping up work in North Africa to help prevent
dangerous crossings into Europe, with the Foreign Secretary
announcing new funding for projects
in Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia to help divert
thousands of potential migrants into jobs closer to home, helping
to reduce the factors causing them to make dangerous crossings
across the Mediterranean.
The Foreign Secretary's visit to Athens follows a series of
recent deals secured to counter illegal migration, including the
ground-breaking UK France returns deal and new agreements with
Germany, Iraq and Western Balkan countries to tackle migration at
every step. Britain has also rolled out the world's first
sanctions regime to freeze the assets and impose travel bans upon
those complicit in people smuggling.
The Foreign Secretary is spearheading
efforts to drive increased international
cooperation on tackling illegal migration,
including Foreign Ministries taking a more
proactive role. At the recent G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in
Canada, the Foreign Secretary urged her key international
partners to support her proactive approach and help deliver
greater border security for Brits.
The visit comes following the Home Secretary's announcement of
the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern
times. These new reforms will restore order and control to our
border, removing the incentives which draw people to the UK
illegally and increasing removals of those with no right to be on
British soil. Only by having a system that is strongly controlled
and managed can Britain maintain the public's confidence in
providing sanctuary for those genuinely fleeing danger.
Notes to editors:
- Additional funding of £1.5m will be
used to support development projects in North
Africa as part of the North Africa Migration and
Development (NAMAD) programme – tackling the root causes of
illegal migration in
Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia.
- NAMAD provides people in North Africa with skills
training and health and social
support. This supports migrants to return to their
country of origin and rebuild their lives, creating safe,
dignified alternatives to dangerous journeys across the
Mediterranean. The programme has already supported over
17,000 people, reducing the push factors that drive migrants to
risk deadly crossings to Greece and the wider
Mediterranean.
