Ministers agree tougher stance on cross-Channel smuggling gangs

France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany agreed to take tougher measures against the people smuggling gangs operating in the English Channel at an emergency summit held in the French port of Calais on Sunday.
Britain needed to create legal migration channels for refugees, France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said after the meeting. Darmanin added that Britain also needed to make it harder for refugees to find work in the shadow economy.
A few days ago, 27 people attempting to reach Britain died when their boat capsized in the English Channel.
France withdrew its invite for Britain to attend the meeting after a diplomatic row broke out when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson published a letter he wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron before Macron himself had received it.
Darmanin stressed that he wanted to consult with his British counterpart Priti Patel. "We want to work with the British, the British are our allies," he said, though he added that France did not want to be held hostage to British domestic politics.
From the beginning of December, the European border protection agency Frontex would provide an aircraft to monitor the coastline of France, Belgium and the Netherlands, Darmanin said.
At the same time, he expressed sympathy for the plight of the refugees and emphasized the humanitarian dimension of the operation on the coast. It did not help to criminalize the refugees, he said, adding that the French police wanted to save lives by preventing the dangerous crossings from happening in the first place.