UK offers money for border security
LONDON — Britain said it would pay an extra $62 million to boost security around Calais following a demand for more money from President Emmanuel Macron ahead of a key summit on Thursday.
“This is about investing in and enhancing the security of the UK border,” a government spokeswoman said.
The funding will go toward fencing, CCTV and detection technology in the northern French port city as well as at other points along the Channel from which migrants regularly attempt to reach British shores by ferry or train.
The money would be on top of more than $138 million already paid by Britain following a border deal between the two countries that was due to be signed later on Thursday.
British and French leaders also aimed to deepen cooperation in tackling terrorism, as Britain tries to strengthen ties before leaving the European Union next year.
The UK also said it will send three Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters and dozens of personnel to join France’s military mission against extremists in Africa’s Sahel region. France has led efforts to fight al-Qaida and IS-linked groups in the vast region south of the Sahara desert.
Macron, on his first official trip across the Channel, met May at the Sandhurst military academy near London.
An El Dorado
The leaders also focused on the issue of immigration.
Hundreds of people continue to camp out in the northern French town of Calais, hoping to stow away on trucks heading to Britain, a destination seen as an El Dorado by some migrants from Afghanistan and parts of Africa.
The two countries currently abide by the 15-year-old Treaty of Le Touquet, which permits immigration checks within each other’s borders.