France-UK sea border

Priority question for written answer P-001679/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Mélissa Camara (Verts/ALE), David Cormand (Verts/ALE), Majdouline Sbai (Verts/ALE), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Marie Toussaint (Verts/ALE), Saskia Bricmont (Verts/ALE), Tilly Metz (Verts/ALE)

The areas off the coasts of northern France have seen their deadliest year in 2024. On 3 September 2024, a shipwreck left another 12 people dead.

A series of bilateral treaties in place to fortify the France-UK sea border, billions of euros spent, expensive technology and an ever-growing number of police officers have done nothing to change the situation. The border is and will continue to be a crossing point for those who cannot settle in European countries or want to find a better life on the other side of the Channel.

• 1.What does the Commission make of how this border - an EU external border, since Brexit - is managed?
• 2.Even after so many agreements - including post-Brexit agreements - Paris and London continue to react in the same way: the UK pays France more and France deploys more police resources. Yet there are still more Channel crossings than ever. What is the Commission's stance on the matter?
• 3.When will the Commission negotiate safe corridors so the border can be crossed legally?

Submitted: 11.9.2024