Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- From 1 December 2020, the new Franco-British agreement on strengthening control over the coast of the English Channel, signed on 28 November 2020, will enter into force. The parties agreed to double the number of French police officers patrolling the 150-kilometer stretch of coastline that is the target of human smuggling networks, the Guardian (UK) reported.

British Home Secretary P. Patel and her French counterpart J. Darmanin also agreed on an expanded package of surveillance technologies with drones, radar equipment, cameras and optoelectronic binoculars.

The question of control over the English Channel was actively discussed during the Franco-British negotiations, and Britain accused France of a lack of preventive measures. P. Patel said that the agreement would allow the two countries to "share the mission to prevent the crossing of the English Channel."

On 29 November 2020, the Maritime Prefecture of the English Channel and North Sea has announced the rescue of another 45 migrants who tried to illegally reach the UK aboard a makeshift boat. The prefecture said in a statement that there were a pregnant woman and children on board the boat, several migrants were "in a state of hypothermia", but all were "alive and well."

Moreover, at the end of October 2020, in the course of the illegal crossing, four people were killed and three were missing, which is by far the most tragic incident in the English Channel, where attempts to cross by boat have increased since 2018.

In September 2020, French authorities said they intercepted more than 1.3 thousand people trying to reach the UK using rubber boats, oars, kayaks and even life jackets. In total since the beginning of this year. the number of those wishing to cross the border in this way exceeded 6 thousand.

In the UK, the agreement has been criticized by the Labor opposition and several charities who believe the country should share responsibility for migrants with its closest neighbor and establish rules for their legal entry into the country so that they do not have to risk their lives further.