Five EU countries have criticised a proposed “one in, one out” migration deal between France and Britain, saying it could see asylum seekers returned to their shores instead.
Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron are working on an agreement that would reportedly see Britain return small boat migrants to France in exchange for asylum seekers with families ties in the UK.
The precise terms of the deal are still being worked out but Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus have already sounded the alarm on the proposed plans.
The Financial Times reported that the five nations have sent a letter to the European Commission objecting to the “one in one out” policy.
The letter reads: “We take note - with a degree of surprise - of the reported intention of France to sign a bilateral readmission arrangement. If confirmed, such an initiative raises serious concerns for us, both procedurally and in terms of potential implications for other member states, particularly those of first entry”.
The five nations have objected to the UK and France working on a deal separately to a whole EU-UK reset deal.
Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus are often the first European countries that migrants who travel by irregular routes arrive at.
They are reportedly concerned that France could use existing EU rules, which allow asylum seekers to be returned to the first country of entry, to pass on asylum seekers accepted from Britain.
The letter continued: “We believe it is essential to clarify whether the agreement may produce any direct or indirect consequences for other member states”.
Mr Macron is due to visit London in early July and the UK-France deal was due to be unveiled at the summit.
A UK government source told The Times that the deal would start as a pilot scheme.
The number of people crossing to the UK from France on small boats has increased in the first half of 2025 compared to the year before.
From January to May, there were around 14,800 small boat crossings - the highest ever number for this period and 42 per cent more than the equivalent period in 2024, according to The Migration Observatory.
French officials have agreed to begin intercepting small boats even if they are already at sea, a change from previous policy.
Current guidelines prevent French police from intervening once the boat is offshore, but home secretary Yvette Cooper has said that France has agreed to change its rules.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has criticised Labour’s proposed one in, one out policy calling it a “gimmick”.
He added: “We pay the French half a billion pounds to wave the boats off from Calais, and in return we get a migrant merry-go-round where the same number still come here.”
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