Latest news with #FrancoBritishSummit
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Starmer and Macron to hammer out migrants deal in crunch summit
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron will engage in crunch talks to hammer out a migration deal, after the pair admitted a 'new deterrent' was needed to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. The Prime Minister hopes the French president will sign up to a 'one in, one out' deal when they hold a Franco-British summit at Downing Street on Thursday, the last day of Mr Macron's state visit to the UK. Under the terms of the deal, Britain would accept migrants with links to the country in exchange for sending others back across the channel. French newspaper Le Monde reported that some 50 migrants a week would initially be returned to France under the terms of the proposed deal, which it described as largely symbolic. If such a deal were struck, it would only result in the return of a fraction of the 21,000 people who have made the channel crossing so far in 2025, a record for this point in a year. But it would also represent a concession by the French that such returns are possible, after years of MPs on the right of British politics insisting France is a 'safe' country where migrants can be sent back to. The Times reported the scheme would be scaled up after an initial pilot had shown 'proof of concept', citing Government sources. In return, Mr Macron is said to be pushing for the UK to do more to address 'pull factors' which are attracting people to make the dangerous crossing to the English coast. When Mr Macron and Sir Keir met in Downing Street on Wednesday, the small boats crisis appeared to be the mainstay of their conversations. The pair agreed the crossings are a 'shared priority that requires shared solutions', a Downing Street spokesperson said. They added: 'The Prime Minister spoke of his Government's toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats. 'The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.' Both Mr Macron and Sir Keir aim for 'concrete progress' on the matter at Thursday's summit, No 10 said, as well as in other areas like support for Ukraine. Following the French-UK summit, the two leaders will host a call with coalition of the willing partners, the proposed peacekeeping mission to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine in future. In a sign of close alignment on defence, Britain and France have announced they will buy new supplies of Storm Shadow missiles, which both have loaned to Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia. The two nations will also work closely to develop a successor to the long-range missile, the Ministry of Defence said.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Now Brexit is behind us': what's at stake as Macron makes state visit to the UK?
As Keir Starmer welcomes Emmanuel Macron to Britain for a landmark state visit aimed at building closer ties between London and Paris, the future of the nations' £100bn trading relationship will be drawn sharply into focus. In the three days of talks, concluding with the 37th Franco-British summit on Thursday, much of the attention will be on cross-Channel issues, including migration, amid expectations for a new deal on tackling small boat crossings. However, cooperation on business, trade, defence and security in the shifting global landscape will also feature prominently. After the damage of Brexit, Starmer and Macron are hoping to use the visit to turn the page on years of simmering tension and attempt a show of unity in the face of Donald Trump's erratic trade war. Macron will be hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle (while Buckingham Palace is refurbished) with an address to parliament on Tuesday and lavish meal at Guildhall in the City of London on Wednesday. The last time a French head of state came to Britain on an official visit, 17 years ago, Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy had a similar message; using a joint press conference at Arsenal's Emirates stadium to warn that cooperation between nations would prove the only way out of the 2008 global financial crisis. This time around, international relations are in a far worse position as Donald Trump upends the postwar western economic and security consensus, threatening sweeping border taxes on the US's allies and enemies alike, and demanding European countries play a bigger role in the Nato military alliance. Much is at stake. France is the UK's fifth largest trading partner, with annual volumes of goods and services crossing the Channel worth about 6% of Britain's global total. After Starmer's 'EU reset' deal with Brussels in May, business leaders in both countries are hoping Macron's state visit will smooth the way for progress in repairing the damage of Brexit. The EU summit agreed several areas in principle, but government sources say the focus with Macron will be about pinning down the details of how things will work in practice. 'It has been quite tough after Brexit on both sides. But now Brexit is behind us,' said Françoise Rausch, the president of the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce, which has represented chief executives on both sides of the Channel for more than 150 years. 'Things have definitely improved. We are two big countries, leaders in Europe, and we need each other. We are strong if we are collaborating and strengthening our partnership,' she said. Brexit triggered a collapse in UK exports to the EU worth £27bn in the first two years, inflicting pain for cross-Channel trade amid long delays for truck drivers at Dover and Calais, mountains of paperwork and reams of red tape. Trade volumes have recovered, yet UK goods exports to the EU remain below pre-Brexit levels. Services exports have fared better. Rausch credited Rishi Sunak's visit to Paris in 2023 for beginning the repair job, after years of antagonism, as well as the king's state visit, his first as monarch, in the same year. 'Since then we have been moving forward very positively.' Closer relations with France could help Starmer to unlock further progress with Brussels. Yael Selfin, the chief economist at KPMG, said: 'It is a very important visit. France is very influential in the EU bloc, so Paris being more receptive could ease the trading relationship.' Britain imports more from France than is sold in exchange, led by beverages and aircraft, resulting in a trade deficit worth almost £12bn last year. The UK is one of the top overseas markets for French wines – including almost 30m bottles of champagne bought by British drinkers each year – as well as perfume, luxury goods and cheeses. Services account for about half of UK exports, led by professional and management consulting, finance and IT. Mechanical power generators, cars and aircraft – including wings manufactured by Airbus at its Broughton plant in north Wales, before being flown to its headquarters in Toulouse for final assembly – are among the largest exports. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Fish and shellfish – with more than half of all Scottish exports to the EU going to France – are also a significant export, including salmon and langoustines, in trade worth £1bn a year to fishing communities. As with the last French state visit to the UK, closer cooperation on civil nuclear projects will be high on the agenda. Brown and Sarkozy agreed to stronger ties at their Arsenal summit, months before the British prime minister gave the green light to expansion of the Hinkley and Sizewell power stations. After 17 years without a single extra watt from a new nuclear plant, and with a dramatically rising price tag, UK ministers last month committed £14.2bn of investment to build Sizewell C alongside the French state-owned energy company EDF. Further funding from the private sector is expected. Defence will also feature prominently, given the tense geopolitical backdrop and as European leaders respond to Trump's strong arming of Nato member states to raise their spending on defence. Starmer and Macron will focus on the cross-Channel defence industry after the agreement with Brussels in the UK-EU reset, allowing British companies to participate in the EU's planned £150bn security action for Europe (Safe) defence fund. Already, there are strong connections, including the French defence firm Thales employing more than 7,000 workers at 16 sites across the UK. However, there are also tensions, amid reports that French diplomats had initially sought to block UK involvement in Safe. Behind the pomp and ceremony of a state visit, it will also not have gone unnoticed in the Élysée Palace that Starmer has attempted to keep the UK as close as possible to Trump's White House, while also pushing to strike closer ties with Brussels. Macron has taken a more robust line with Trump than Starmer's softly, softly approach. London's deal to soften the most extreme US tariff rates could rankle Paris at a time when EU officials remain locked in talks with Washington before the possible escalation of border tax rates on 1 August. The French president will, however, beat his US counterpart to a state visit, as Trump is expected to fly over in the autumn. Although the US is the UK's single largest trading partner, in a relationship worth more than £300bn, Britain has tightly interwoven links with France and the wider EU, due to closer geographic proximity. Business leaders say this makes cooperation on the European continent more important. 'The US and President Trump are creating a lot of uncertainties which are bad for business. What is concerning is what's happening in the Middle East, in eastern Europe, and the fact that Trump wants Europe really to take the lead on defending its sovereignty,' Rausch said. 'For me these are the most important reasons why France and the UK are even bigger allies than before.'
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
King and French president Macron display entente cordiale as state visit begins
The King and Emmanuel Macron demonstrated the entente cordiale still remains strong between the UK and France as the French president began his state visit. The two heads of state gave public displays of warmth and affection, with Mr Macron air kissing the hands of the Queen and Princess of Wales, while he put a comforting hand on the King's back during his ceremonial welcome. Charles kissed the hand of the president's wife Brigitte Macron, affectionately pulling it up to his lips, and was seen in deep conversation with the French leader during a carriage ride through Windsor, part of the pomp and pageantry afforded the president. Windsor Castle is the setting for the start of Mr Macron's three-day state visit that has an important political backdrop, with the president and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer leading a Franco-British summit later this week that is likely to have action on Channel migrants top of the agenda. Mr Macron arrived in the UK promising 'concrete, effective and lasting' co-operation on migration and is under pressure to do more to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. The last French president to make a state visit to the UK was the now-disgraced Nicolas Sarkozy in March 2008 and Windsor has not hosted a visiting head since 2014, when Irish President Michael D Higgins travelled to the UK. State visits capitalise on the royals' soft power to strengthen diplomatic ties with allies and Charles and Camilla warmly greeted the French leader and the first lady on a specially constructed Royal Dais near the town's Windsor and Eton Riverside train station, as a 41-gun salute thundered across the town. Mr Macron rolled out the Gallic charm by taking Camilla's hand and leaning forward to air kiss it, having earlier greeted Kate at RAF Northolt in north-west London with the same gesture, after the Prince and Princess of Wales had the duty of meeting them when their plane arrived. There were la bise kisses between Mrs Macron and the Queen, and as Mr Macron stood chatting to the King with ease, the president placed his hand on the monarch's back and gave it a few affectionate rubs. The King was sporting a burst blood vessel in his right eye, which is said to have developed overnight and be unrelated to any other health conditions. A carriage procession was staged through the streets of Windsor, with Charles and the president riding past Windsor Guildhall, where the King married his consort in 2005, followed by their wives and behind them William and Kate in another carriage. The pomp and pageantry saw more than 950 servicemen and women from all three armed services, and 70 horses, taking part in the ceremonial welcome, from troops lining the carriage procession route to a guard of honour featuring guardsmen from two of the British Army's oldest regiments the Grenadier Guards and Scots Guards. Mr Macron inspected the troops with Major Jake Sayers of the Grenadier Guards, captain of the guard of honour, accompanied by the King who followed tradition and walked a few paces behind. When the royal party left for a private lunch the King, Queen and President Macron and his wife walked four abreast in step with each other as Kate and William followed. The Entente Cordiale was signed between UK and France in 1904 and ushered in improved relations between the two nations, who had fought against each other during the Napoleonic Wars. After his coronation the King, accompanied by the Queen, carried out a state visit to France in September 2023.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Now Brexit is behind us': what's at stake as Macron makes state visit to the UK?
As Keir Starmer welcomes Emmanuel Macron to Britain for a landmark state visit aimed at building closer ties between London and Paris, the future of the nations' £100bn trading relationship will be drawn sharply into focus. In the three days of talks, concluding with the 37th Franco-British summit on Thursday, much of the attention will be on cross-Channel issues, including migration, amid expectations for a new deal on tackling small boat crossings. However, cooperation on business, trade, defence and security in the shifting global landscape will also feature prominently. After the damage of Brexit, Starmer and Macron are hoping to use the visit to turn the page on years of simmering tension and attempt a show of unity in the face of Donald Trump's erratic trade war. Macron will be hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle (while Buckingham Palace is refurbished) with an address to parliament on Tuesday and lavish meal at Guildhall in the City of London on Wednesday. The last time a French head of state came to Britain on an official visit, 17 years ago, Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy had a similar message; using a joint press conference at Arsenal's Emirates stadium to warn that cooperation between nations would prove the only way out of the 2008 global financial crisis. This time around, international relations are in a far worse position as Donald Trump upends the postwar western economic and security consensus, threatening sweeping border taxes on the US's allies and enemies alike, and demanding European countries play a bigger role in the Nato military alliance. Much is at stake. France is the UK's fifth largest trading partner, with annual volumes of goods and services crossing the Channel worth about 6% of Britain's global total. After Starmer's 'EU reset' deal with Brussels in May, business leaders in both countries are hoping Macron's state visit will smooth the way for progress in repairing the damage of Brexit. The EU summit agreed several areas in principle, but government sources say the focus with Macron will be about pinning down the details of how things will work in practice. 'It has been quite tough after Brexit on both sides. But now Brexit is behind us,' said Françoise Rausch, the president of the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce, which has represented chief executives on both sides of the Channel for more than 150 years. 'Things have definitely improved. We are two big countries, leaders in Europe, and we need each other. We are strong if we are collaborating and strengthening our partnership,' she said. Brexit triggered a collapse in UK exports to the EU worth £27bn in the first two years, inflicting pain for cross-Channel trade amid long delays for truck drivers at Dover and Calais, mountains of paperwork and reams of red tape. Trade volumes have recovered, yet UK goods exports to the EU remain below pre-Brexit levels. Services exports have fared better. Rausch credited Rishi Sunak's visit to Paris in 2023 for beginning the repair job, after years of antagonism, as well as the king's state visit, his first as monarch, in the same year. 'Since then we have been moving forward very positively.' Closer relations with France could help Starmer to unlock further progress with Brussels. Yael Selfin, the chief economist at KPMG, said: 'It is a very important visit. France is very influential in the EU bloc, so Paris being more receptive could ease the trading relationship.' Britain imports more from France than is sold in exchange, led by beverages and aircraft, resulting in a trade deficit worth almost £12bn last year. The UK is one of the top overseas markets for French wines – including almost 30m bottles of champagne bought by British drinkers each year – as well as perfume, luxury goods and cheeses. Services account for about half of UK exports, led by professional and management consulting, finance and IT. Mechanical power generators, cars and aircraft – including wings manufactured by Airbus at its Broughton plant in north Wales, before being flown to its headquarters in Toulouse for final assembly – are among the largest exports. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Fish and shellfish – with more than half of all Scottish exports to the EU going to France – are also a significant export, including salmon and langoustines, in trade worth £1bn a year to fishing communities. As with the last French state visit to the UK, closer cooperation on civil nuclear projects will be high on the agenda. Brown and Sarkozy agreed to stronger ties at their Arsenal summit, months before the British prime minister gave the green light to expansion of the Hinkley and Sizewell power stations. After 17 years without a single extra watt from a new nuclear plant, and with a dramatically rising price tag, UK ministers last month committed £14.2bn of investment to build Sizewell C alongside the French state-owned energy company EDF. Further funding from the private sector is expected. Defence will also feature prominently, given the tense geopolitical backdrop and as European leaders respond to Trump's strong arming of Nato member states to raise their spending on defence. Starmer and Macron will focus on the cross-Channel defence industry after the agreement with Brussels in the UK-EU reset, allowing British companies to participate in the EU's planned £150bn security action for Europe (Safe) defence fund. Already, there are strong connections, including the French defence firm Thales employing more than 7,000 workers at 16 sites across the UK. However, there are also tensions, amid reports that French diplomats had initially sought to block UK involvement in Safe. Behind the pomp and ceremony of a state visit, it will also not have gone unnoticed in the Élysée Palace that Starmer has attempted to keep the UK as close as possible to Trump's White House, while also pushing to strike closer ties with Brussels. Macron has taken a more robust line with Trump than Starmer's softly, softly approach. London's deal to soften the most extreme US tariff rates could rankle Paris at a time when EU officials remain locked in talks with Washington before the possible escalation of border tax rates on 1 August. The French president will, however, beat his US counterpart to a state visit, as Trump is expected to fly over in the autumn. Although the US is the UK's single largest trading partner, in a relationship worth more than £300bn, Britain has tightly interwoven links with France and the wider EU, due to closer geographic proximity. Business leaders say this makes cooperation on the European continent more important. 'The US and President Trump are creating a lot of uncertainties which are bad for business. What is concerning is what's happening in the Middle East, in eastern Europe, and the fact that Trump wants Europe really to take the lead on defending its sovereignty,' Rausch said. 'For me these are the most important reasons why France and the UK are even bigger allies than before.'
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Macron arrives in UK promising cooperation on issues including migration
French president Emmanuel Macron promised 'concrete, effective and lasting' cooperation on migration as he arrived in the UK under pressure to do more to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. Mr Macron will be hosted by Britain's King Charles during his three-day state visit, the first by a French president since 2008. Advertisement But there is a significant political dimension to the visit as well, with the president and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer leading a Franco-British summit later in the week. I am arriving in the United Kingdom for a State Visit, followed by a Franco-British summit. An important moment for our two nations. The United Kingdom is a strategic partner, an ally, a friend. Our bond is longstanding, forged by History and strengthened by trust.… — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 8, 2025 Top of the agenda for that summit is likely to be action on small boat crossings as Mr Starmer attempts to solve one of voters' key issues. Mr Macron said: 'Together, we will address the major challenges of our time: security, defence, nuclear energy, space, innovation, artificial intelligence, migration, and culture. 'These are all areas in which we seek to act together and deepen our co-operation in a concrete, effective, and lasting way.' Advertisement More than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, putting 2025 on course to be a record year (Gareth Fuller/PA) The UK hopes this could include a so-called 'one in, one out' deal to exchange Channel migrants for asylum seekers in Europe who have a British link. Such an agreement is thought still to be on the table, but a deal has not yet been done. Ministers have also been pushing for France to revise its rules to allow police to intervene when boats are in shallow water, rather than requiring them still to be on land. Last week, French authorities appeared to change tactics when officers used a knife to puncture an inflatable boat after it had launched. Advertisement On Monday, Downing Street appeared to suggest a new approach had been discussed but not yet rolled out. A spokesman for Number 10 said: 'We are the first Government to have secured agreement from the French to review their maritime tactics so their border enforcement teams can intervene in shallow waters. 'This is operationally and legally complex, but we're working closely with the French. We expect this to be operationalised soon.' Mr Macron's state visit comes a week after the total number of people crossing the Channel in small boats this year passed 20,000. Advertisement The total now stands at more than 21,000, a record for this point in the year. Mr Macron will address Parliament on Thursday, as his predecessor-but-one, Nicolas Sarkozy, did during his state visit in 2008. Mr Starmer and the French president are also expected to co-host a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing', the peacekeeping mission proposed to be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. Mr Macron said: 'There is so much we can build together: for the stability of our continent, for our shared prosperity and competitiveness, and for the protection of our democracies.' Advertisement Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged Mr Starmer to use the state visit to create a 'united front' against Donald Trump's 'damaging trade war'. He said: 'The Government has worked hard to negotiate but, every time, Donald Trump's boomerang tariffs come back as he moves the goal posts again and again. 'It's time to make clear to Trump that we will not take his playground bullying and divide-and-rule tactics lying down. That is the best way to stand up for British jobs, protect our economy and end the uncertainty of this trade war for good.' Both Mr Davey and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, the leaders of the two largest opposition parties, will meet Mr Macron during his visit.
