French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed on the need for new solutions to the problem of illegal migration on Wednesday, Starmer's office said, laying the groundwork for a bilateral summit on Thursday, reports FRANCE 24.
Macron and Starmer met for lunch during what is the first state visit by a European leader since Brexit, with both sides talking up the need to deliver concrete progress to stop migrants travelling to England fromFrance.
"The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions," a summary of the meeting sent out by Starmer's office said.
"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."
London has been pushing for a "one in, one out" deal to send small boat migrants back to the continent, in exchange for the UK accepting asylum seekers in Europe who have British links or families in the UK.
Starmer is seeking to agree to a returns deal for asylum seekers ahead of Thursday's summit.
Such an agreement would help the British leader meet a pledge to stop the flow of tens of thousands of people into Britain from across the Channel.
France has rejected a returns deal for asylum seekers in the past, saying Britain should negotiate with the EU as a whole.
Under Starmer's plan, Britain would deport one asylum seeker to France in exchange for another with a legitimate case.
But in a speech on Tuesday, Macron spoke of the need to address "migration pull factors", suggesting any deal would require Starmer to make it harder for migrants who do not have legal status to live and work in Britain.
After he took power a year ago, Starmer promised to "smash the gangs" getting thousands of migrants onto the small boats, only to see numbers rise to record levels.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.