EU and UK Negotiating Preliminary Deal for Access to Frontex Border Agency

The European Union and Britain are in the process of reaching a preliminary deal for the latter’s access to the Frontex border agency, reports said Tuesday.

Ongoing Negotiations

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said negotiations were ongoing and the text of a deal had not yet been agreed.

Hope for a Deal

“Obviously we hope to achieve a deal that works for us and our European neighbours,” he said. “I don’t recognize some of the reporting I have seen today.”

Talks on Migration

The spokesperson said Britain and the European Commission are in talks about how to deal with the issue of migration.

Lack of Returns Agreements

While Britain has reached bilateral agreements – including a recent deal with Türkiye to disrupt people-smuggling gangs and tackle illegal migration – it no longer has returns agreements with the EU since leaving the bloc in 2020.

Desire for a Comprehensive Solution

Asked if the government would like the EU to agree a deal on returning people who have crossed the Channel, the spokesperson said: “We want to look at everything as a whole. I don’t want to get into the details of what is being negotiated.”