The EU and the U.K. have completed talks ahead of a new blueprint to crack down on illegal migration.
The two parties will release details of the new cooperation agreement, which has been in the works since at least the fall, in the coming days.
“The leaders welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations on a new working arrangement between UK agencies and Frontex, which should be formalised in the coming days, as part of wider cooperation between the UK and EU on tackling illegal migration,” said a U.K. government readout of a call between U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
An EU statement reads almost exactly the same, although it speaks of a “crack down” on illegal migration rather than “tackling” it, suggesting agreed language was modified.
Greater cooperation on irregular migration — where people cross borders without official permission — has been in the works for some time, but as POLITICO reported in October had been snagged on the U.K.’s desire for a returns agreement.
