Rishi Sunak and Georgia Meloni have developed a close working relationship. Photo: PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images
Emmanuel Macron to join us Migration talks hosted by Rishi Sunak and Georgia Meloni provided an 11th hour boost to the Prime Minister's 'stop the boats' bid.
< p>The French President's decision to attend talks on the sidelines of the European summit in Spain, after it emerged that the UK intends to access EU intelligence on migrant border crossings as part of a new agreement.
Mr Sunak holds a right-wing faction on migration issues on the outskirts of Spain. European Political Community (EPC) summit in Granada with Ms Meloni on Thursday.
Mr Macron was initially not due to attend the meeting due to reservations that the meeting, whose vague purpose was to discuss the fight against people smuggling, was devoid of substance and amounted to little more than a «PR stunt». France, however, has now announced that the president intends to take part in this.
On Thursday in Granada, the UK will announce agreements with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to step up intelligence sharing and operations to disrupt smuggling gangs pushing migrants towards its borders.
The Anglo-Italian meeting arose out of frustration with that Madrid failed to resolve what was seen as an existential problem for European leaders during the Granada summit.
2809, Italy is the main starting point
It also represents a diplomatic victory for Mr Sunak at that time a time when Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labor Party, is trying to forge new alliances on the continent.
Mr Macron hosted Sir Keir at the Elysee Palace last month in what some saw as a slight towards Mr Sunak, and the president's presence at the migration talks will go some way to assuaging such complaints.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Mr Sunak said: «Illegal migration levels to mainland Europe are the highest for almost a decade.»
“With thousands of people dying at sea, driven by human smugglers, the situation is immoral and unsustainable. We can't let criminal gangs decide who comes to Europe's shores.»
He will point to figures that show illegal Channel crossings have fallen by 20 per cent and arrivals across the Mediterranean to Italy have fallen by 20 per cent. doubled, calling for more arrivals to Italy via the Mediterranean. European cooperation to tackle the influx.
There was dissatisfaction in France and other European countries that Madrid refused to put migration on the main agenda.
“At the end of the day, this is the pressing issue now,” a diplomatic source told The Telegraph. referring to the more than 127,000 migrants who arrived in Italy in the first nine months of the year, including at least 10,000 on the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa. «It's not a bad idea to look at the problem from the Media to the English Channel.»
Mr Sunak maintains a positive relationship with Ms Meloni, the leader of Italy's far-right Brotherhood, and the pair were photographed laughing together at the Nato summit in Vilnius in July.
Their talks are expected to focus on combating people-smuggling gangs that facilitate passage from North Africa to Europe, people familiar with the discussions said.
Ursula von der Leyen , the European representative of the President of the Commission informed London and Rome that she would be present at the meeting.
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