Five Southern EU States Oppose France-UK Migration Deal

Five southern EU countries—Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus—have strongly opposed a proposed bilateral migration deal between France and the UK, warning it could force them to take back asylum seekers returned from Britain. The deal, reportedly a 'one in, one out' arrangement negotiated by UK's Sir Keir Starmer and France's President Emmanuel Macron, would allow Britain to return migrants arriving via small boats to France, while the UK would accept asylum seekers with family ties there. These Mediterranean nations, often the first entry points for migrants into Europe, expressed concern that France could use existing EU rules to send asylum seekers back to their countries of first entry, burdening them disproportionately. The five countries have sent a letter to the European Commission criticizing the deal for bypassing broader EU-UK migration negotiations and raising procedural and practical concerns. The agreement is seen as a bilateral workaround following the failure to reach a comprehensive EU-UK migration pact, and it risks undermining the fragile EU consensus on asylum policy. French President Macron is scheduled to visit London in early July, where the deal was expected to be unveiled, although delays persist as some EU member states remain hesitant.