Shabana Mahmood will meet Magnus Brunner for the second time in two months, as engagement between London and Brussels intensifies. The meeting will cover migration, border management, law enforcement cooperation and counter-terrorism, the European Commission said.
Andy Burnham, who is leading the UK’s efforts to reset relations with the EU, told MPs last week that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was “open to the conversation about restoring data sharing on immigration across the UK, across Europe”. He said it was “control” that the UK “lost” and that should get “more attention” in the Brexit debate.
Brunner said “the UK’s contribution is indispensable” to continuing efforts to suppress irregular migration. He pointed to a 43% decline in small boat crossings of the English Channel, according to the latest Frontex data, and said the EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum had already had a significant impact. “Illegal crossings at our external borders are down 55% over two years,” Brunner said.
On the agenda for Monday’s talks will be the UK rejoining some police and security databases it was locked out of after Brexit, as well as Eurodac, a new platform that collects fingerprints and facial images of asylum seekers and flags security risks. Another key database is the Schengen Information System (SIS), which holds data on missing persons, stolen goods and vehicles, and fugitives. About 20 million searches are made daily on the SIS, mostly on cars, according to EU data.
Brunner will also meet MI5 director general Ken McCallum, visit the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, and meet senior officials from the UK’s child sexual abuse centre to discuss joint efforts to tackle such crimes. He is scheduled to deliver a lecture at King’s College London on migration and asylum, where he will discuss the impact of the EU’s new migration pact.
The Home Office has not commented on the upcoming talks.