Starmer-Macron Migrant Deal Shows Limit of UK’s Europe Reset
France's president Emmanuel Macron and UK prime minister Keir Starmer at a 'Coalition of the Willing' meeting during a joint military visit in Northwood, UK, on July 10.
Photographer: Andy Rain/EPA/BloombergKeir Starmer sealed a “one in, one out” migrant-return deal with French President Emmanuel Macron that highlighted the limits for now of the UK Prime Minister’s efforts to reset relations with European nations five years after Brexit.
Under a pilot program announced Thursday by Starmer in a joint press conference with his French counterpart, the UK will return a number of cross-channel migrants each week to France, with Britain accepting the same number of asylum seekers from France who have connections to Britain. While Starmer didn’t state the scale of the plan, he also didn’t push back against reports that it will initially cover about 50 returns a week.