‘One in, one out’ deal on Channel crossings to end in October, French reports say

The “one in, one out” agreement on cross-Channel migration between the UK and France is due to end in October, according to French media reports. Under the terms of the deal, asylum seekers who arrive in the UK in a small boat can be forcibly returned to France, in exchange for others in France who have not tried to cross the Channel being brought to the UK legally. It has been criticised by NGOs and asylum seekers as unjust, due to an apparently random selection process, and inhumane, because some of those returned to France say their lives have been threatened by people smugglers based in northern France. Migrant advocacy groups have been highly critical of the agreement. Doctors Without Borders has condemned the scheme as a “a cynical bargaining over human lives”. The NGO provides assistance to people sent back to France and has reported cases of acute stress disorder and disorientation. A report in France’s Le Monde cites a French interior ministry source as saying the agreement will not be extended beyond October and that an action plan announced by the European Commission on 18 June is intended to replace the bilateral approach to asylum seekers crossing the Channel to the UK. The Home Office has welcomed the EU Channel action plan, saying it sets out a more coordinated EU-level response to Channel crossings. …