Tag: Downing Street

Stopping illegal migration and securing our borders should be at the top of the agenda for European leaders, the Prime Minister will tell a gathering of the European Political Community (EPC) in Chișinău, Moldova today (1 June 2023).

The EPC was established last year as a forum for leaders from across Europe to come together and address some of the biggest trans-national challenges. Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister will point to the devastating humanitarian impact of illegal migration which is rising across the continent. He will emphasise the need for all countries to grip this problem with a lawful and compassionate approach.

Migrant crossings into the EU increased by 64 per cent last year and organised criminal gangs are using networks across Europe to commit cross-border crime and profit from human misery.

In recent weeks, the PM has agreed an unprecedented package of measures to stop illegal Channel crossings with France and new returns agreements with Albania. Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister also agreed with EU President Von der Leyen to develop a new working arrangement between UK agencies and Frontex – the EU’s border agency. This will include Frontex and UK agencies working together on critical operational and strategic challenges, including in the Channel.

Today, the Prime Minister will announce the start of negotiations on a new returns agreement with Moldova and confirm that a similar deal struck with Georgia has entered into force. These returns agreements allow us to return foreign nationals found to be in violation of immigration laws in the UK – reducing the incentive for people to come here illegally.

The Prime Minister will also announce a new partnership with Bulgaria to help them destroy the business model of organised criminal gangs who are deeply involved in illegal migration.

Bulgaria sits at the crossroads of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans migration routes – both of which have seen around a 40 per cent increase in illegal migration since 2021. The country is also becoming a key point of entry for the small boats and engines which are used by criminal gangs in illegal Channel crossings.

The UK will increase bilateral intelligence sharing with Bulgaria and work with them to increase their ability to detect and disrupt criminal gangs, building on previous work to disrupt the flow of illicit finance through organised crime networks.

The Prime Minister said:

Europe is facing unprecedented threats at our borders. From Putin’s utter contempt of other countries’ sovereignty to the rise in organised immigration crime across our continent.

We cannot address these problems without Europe’s governments and institutions working closely together. In every meeting, every summit, every international gathering like this, the security of our borders must be top of the agenda.

The UK will be at the heart of this international effort to stop the boats and defend our national security.

The UK will host the European Political Community in 2024 following the next summit, hosted by Spain in October. In Moldova today the Prime Minister will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to discuss how the UK and Spain can keep up the momentum of international action on illegal migration at our respective EPC Summits.

The Prime Minister will also convene a roundtable discussion on security, alongside the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, where he will stress the need to deal with organised immigration crime and support countries like Ukraine and Moldova who are on the front line of Russian aggression.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moldova was already one of the poorest countries in Europe. It now hosts the largest per capita refugee population, having accepted thousands of Ukrainians fleeing war. Moldova is the subject of constant Russian hostility, from Russian troops illegally stationed in Transnistria to a Russian plot, uncovered earlier this year, to stage a coup in Moldova.

In March, the UK announced an extra £10 million to support reforms, including to Moldova’s energy sector, which will help them defend against the kind of economic and political manipulation we know Russia is capable of.

We have also provided £12.5 million to UN agencies to help support Ukrainian refugees in Moldova, and today the Prime Minister will announce a further £10.5 million to continue these efforts – particularly helping those women and children who have experienced the most horrific things imaginable over the last year.

Given the impact of Putin’s aggression beyond Ukraine, this work is integral to keeping our people safe and stopping the manipulation of our economy.

The Prime Minister met with Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet – the parent company of Google – at the Government’s Darlington Economic Campus.

The Prime Minister thanked Mr Pichai for Google’s role at the heart of the UK’s technology ecosystem, and they spoke about opportunities for growth in the industry.

They discussed the UK’s strengths and ambitions in cementing its position as a science and technology superpower, reflecting on recent government announcements, including the publication of the AI White Paper.

On Artificial Intelligence, they spoke about striking the right balance to ensure the right regulatory guardrails are in place, whilst driving forward innovation. They discussed possible opportunities for industry and international collaboration on safe and responsible AI development and agreed to remain in touch on this issue.

The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely and previously Acting Bishop of Lincoln, for election as Bishop of Lincoln, in succession to The Right Reverend Christopher Lowson following his retirement.

Background

Stephen was educated at Keble College, Oxford, and trained for ordained ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge. He served his title at St Mary, Heworth, in the Diocese of Durham, and was ordained priest in 1987. Stephen served as Director of Ordinands from 1990 and, in 1994, he was appointed Priest in Charge, later Vicar, of St Mary, Cockerton.

From 1998, Stephen served as Bishop’s Senior Chaplain, Press Officer and Diocesan Communications Officer and, in 2002, he was appointed Archdeacon of Durham and Residentiary Canon of Durham Cathedral.

In 2006, Stephen was appointed Area Bishop of Ramsbury, in the Diocese of Salisbury and, in 2010, he took up his current role as Bishop of Ely. Additionally, Stephen was Acting Bishop of Lincoln from the beginning of 2022 until Easter 2023.

Let me start by thanking Prime Minister Kishida and the people of Japan for their warm and generous welcome and hospitality.

At this pivotal moment for peace, freedom, and democracy, the G7 came together with our allies and friends to confront a more dangerous world.

We leave Hiroshima stronger and more united than ever.

And through this summit, we have advanced the priorities of the British people with two big aims – economic security and national security.

First, economic security.

On this trip, we’ve secured almost £18 billion of new investments into the UK from Japanese businesses.

That’s a huge vote of confidence in the UK – creating hundreds of new jobs, with significantly more to come as projects get underway.

All helping to grow our economy – one of my five priorities for the UK.

And alongside our unprecedented new defence and security partnership it’s clear that the UK-Japan relationship has never been closer as we work with G7 allies to support a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The G7 also demonstrated unity of purpose on China.

China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity. They are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad.

And, as the G7 have showed, the UK’s response is completely aligned with our allies.

This is all about de-risking – not de-coupling.

And with the G7, we are taking steps to prevent China from using economic coercion to interfere in the sovereign affairs of others.

A new theme of this Summit was also AI.

AI can bring huge benefits for our economy, society, and public services.

But of course – it needs to be developed safely, securely, and fairly.

And that will require international cooperation something the UK is in a natural position to lead.

Our second aim for this Summit was national security.

All leaders at this Summit are grappling with the issue of illegal migration.

My policy is this: it is the British government who will determine who comes to Britain.

We must stop the boats and break the business model of the criminal gangs.

This is a global issue – and it will increasingly be a focus of our international engagement.

Just last week, at the Council of Europe we agreed to strengthen cooperation with the EU’s border force.

At this Summit, we secured the G7’s agreement to deepen our work together.

And we expect this to be an important focus of the G7 next year, under Italy’s leadership.

And there is no more pressing issue facing the G7 and the world – than Ukraine.

I want to pay tribute to my friend, Volodymyr. It was a privilege to welcome him to Chequers earlier this week.

And I believe his attendance at this G7 was a moment of historic significance.

The image of the G7 and our partners standing shoulder to shoulder with President Zelenskyy sends a powerful message about the unity and determination of the G7 allies.

We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, because their security is our security.

The G7’s strategy is clear:

Our military, diplomatic and economic tools are all part of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.

We’re delivering more support on the battlefield through air defence, artillery, tanks, and long-range missiles – which the UK was the first country to provide.

We’re supporting Ukraine to develop the air force it needs for the future with the UK training Ukrainian pilots, starting this summer.

And we’ve made a real breakthrough at this Summit, thanks to President Biden’s support for an international coalition to provide F-16 jets.

We’re ratcheting up the economic cost to Russia with a new package of sanctions.

And we know that Ukraine must not only win the war but win a just and lasting peace.

We’re working with allies to provide coordinated bilateral security arrangements and a collective commitment to Ukraine’s future defence, to guarantee they can deter future attacks.

And any peace settlement must be on Ukraine’s terms.

I want to just quote from the statement that the G7 and our partner countries have just agreed:

“We support a just and durable peace, based on respect for international law, the principles of the UN Charter, and territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

In other words: we must, and we will show that violent territorial aggression does not reap rewards.

There could be no more fitting place to discuss the urgent need for peace, than Hiroshima.

I was deeply moved to visit the peace memorial on Friday.

What we saw there was haunting.

A child’s tricycle, twisted by the blast.

School uniforms bloodied and torn.

And with those images in our minds, we resolved never to forget what happened here.

And at this historic summit, G7 leaders recommitted ourselves to the path of peace, freedom, and democracy.

Thank you.