London, UK – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at the historic 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, during President Macron’s three-day state visit to the United Kingdom. The high-stakes meeting centered primarily on intensifying efforts to curb the persistent challenge of undocumented immigration across the vital English Channel, a subject that has dominated political discourse in both nations. Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic reported on the critical discussions from London.
The perilous journeys undertaken by migrants and refugees in small boats attempting to cross the narrow strait from northern France to the UK have created significant political and humanitarian pressures. Both London and Paris face domestic calls for stricter border controls and enhanced cooperation to dismantle criminal networks facilitating these crossings. While significant resources have been deployed, the numbers attempting the crossing remain high, making the issue a central point of bilateral and European tension.
The UK’s “One In, One Out” Proposal
The UK government, under Prime Minister Starmer, is actively pushing for a new, ambitious bilateral arrangement with France. According to reporting by the domestic Press Association news agency, Britain is seeking a novel “one in, one out” mechanism. This proposed deal would involve France agreeing to take back individuals who arrive in the UK via small boats or other irregular means across the Channel. In return for each person France accepts, the UK would agree to take an asylum seeker currently located elsewhere in Europe, provided that individual has a demonstrable connection to Britain. The specifics of what constitutes a “British connection” remain a critical detail, likely involving family ties or previous residency, although the full proposed criteria were not detailed in the initial reports. This plan represents a significant shift in the UK’s approach, aiming to create a direct disincentive for dangerous Channel crossings by ensuring those who arrive irregularly are returned, while simultaneously contributing to a burden-sharing mechanism for asylum processing within Europe.
French Stance and Broader European Opposition
France has, to date, expressed strong reservations regarding signing such a specific bilateral agreement solely with the United Kingdom. Paris has consistently maintained that while it is committed to tackling illegal migration and cooperating with the UK on border security, any comprehensive arrangement for returns and burden-sharing must be negotiated within the broader framework of the European Union. French officials argue that a bilateral deal between London and Paris alone would be insufficient and could potentially disrupt cooperation among EU member states on migration policy. This French position is amplified by significant opposition from several other European nations. Countries including Spain, Malta, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus have voiced substantial concerns regarding the potential implications of the UK’s “one in, one out” proposal under existing EU law. Their primary worry centres on the possibility that if France were to accept individuals returned from Britain under the deal, it might then seek to move those individuals to one of these countries to claim asylum, citing the EU’s “first port of entry” rules. These rules typically stipulate that asylum claims should be processed in the first EU country an applicant entered. Such a scenario, these nations fear, could place an undue and unintended burden on their already strained asylum systems, effectively making them the default processing points for individuals initially returned to France from the UK.
Diplomatic Challenges and the Path Forward
The discussions at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, underscored the deep complexities and significant diplomatic hurdles inherent in finding a mutually acceptable solution to the Channel migration issue. While both Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron share a stated goal of preventing dangerous crossings and disrupting criminal networks, their approaches to managing those who arrive and seek asylum appear fundamentally divergent. The UK’s preference for a targeted bilateral return-and-resettlement mechanism clashes with France’s insistence on an EU-wide approach and the concerns of other frontline EU states about potential legal and practical repercussions. Finding a pathway forward requires navigating not only the bilateral relationship between the UK and France but also the intricate legal and political landscape of the European Union. The outcome of these talks remains uncertain, with no immediate breakthrough announced regarding the “one in, one out” proposal or an alternative returns mechanism. The leaders are expected to continue discussions on migration, alongside other topics like defence, trade, and energy, throughout the remainder of President Macron’s three-day state visit to the UK, but achieving a consensus on this particularly sensitive issue presents a formidable challenge.
