Small Boats, Big Stakes: Options for a UK-EU Deal on Migration and Asylum

By Meghan Benton, Susan Fratzke and Nurbanu Hayır

When it left the European Union, the United Kingdom lost its participation in the EU system for managing which country is responsible for which asylum seekers. This change has been a major, though not the sole, factor in burgeoning numbers of people attempting to reach UK shores in small boats, some dying in the process. The UK government and its European counterparts recently announced progress on cooperation in trade, security, and youth mobility, but addressing the politically corrosive Channel crossings will depend on whether the United Kingdom and its EU partners sign a readmissions deal— an issue that has proved much more thorny. Under the contemplated deal, the United Kingdom would accept transfers of certain asylum seekers from the European Union in return for an agreement by France and/or other Calais Group countries (Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands) to readmit asylum seekers who have reached the United Kingdom by sea. Such an agreement could be a bilateral readmission agreement, which would be easiest to stand up but holds political risks for the French if it lacks the European Union’s blessing. Alternately, an agreement could be reached with the European Union itself to facilitate the readmission of small boat arrivals directly to the EU country responsible for them, in line with rules set out by the EU Pacton Migration and Asylum—an option that could take longer to negotiate but also reduce the risk of simply shifting irregular migration routes to a neighboring country. The architects of the deal will need to balance the need to quickly deliver an agreement and proof of concept with the longer-term goal of creating a system that will significantly bring down dangerous Channel crossings and improve how countries share responsibility for the asylum seekers involved. This deal is an opportunity to test a more managed approach to asylum and migration.

Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2025. 16p.