British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, on the sidelines of a summit of Council of Europe leaders. They agreed to “strengthen cooperation” on migration, in a move that will see London work with the EU’s border agency. Brussels and London will exchange intelligence, expertise and personnel to combat people smugglers. UK and EU teams will now discuss the details and operationalisation of this new working arrangement.

The migration deal comes after the governments of Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK called in December 2022 for an EU-UK cooperation agreement on migration "in order to tackle irregular migration in north-western Europe".

In March 2023, Paris and London struck another deal under which the UK will provide funding to the French government (€141 million in 2023-24, €191 million in 2024-25 and €209 million in 2025-2026) to increase the number of officers and patrols on the French coast, to pay for new capabilities including drones and to operate a new command centre and a new detention centre.

For further information, please read this Euronews press release and this Politico press release.