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Cameron Warns, Britain “faces influx of Asylum Seekers” if it Leaves EU | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Cameron Warns, Britain “faces influx of Asylum Seekers” if it Leaves EU


Cameron Warns, Britain “faces influx of Asylum Seekers” if it Leaves EU

Cameron Warns, Britain “faces influx of Asylum Seekers” if it Leaves EU

London- British Prime Minister, David Cameron said it was “perfectly feasible” that France would end existing border arrangements with Britain, leading to “thousands of asylum-seekers pitching up in southeast England if the country votes to leave the European Union.”

On this basis, Cameron is thought to be choosing national security issues as the centerpiece of his campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, especially in the light of the freedom of movement of people among countries, making checking thousands of passports extremely difficult.

One of the stated reasons for some campaigners wanting to leave the EU is that it would give the UK control over its borders policy in regard of other EU countries.

Current agreements between Paris and London, which were signed in 2003, allow the British authorities to do inspection procedures at the border in the French Ports instead of the British ones. This is why Cameron has warned that if Britain leaves the EU, then France will cancel this agreement.

Opponents are accusing British Prime Minister David Cameron of using scare tactics after what he said earlier about asylum seekers.

On the other hand, Cameron has faced criticism from supporters of secession from the European Union as Jayne Adye, the head of the secession group, told Asharq Al-Awsat that: “The agreement we have to process migrants in Calais is with France, not the EU. There is no reason for this to change on Leaving the EU.” She added explaining that the French Minister of Interior, Bernard Cazeneuve, has announced last October that the French Government is not willing to cancel this agreement as France will face several consequences if it did so.

From his part, David Davis, a Eurosceptic lawmaker from Cameron’s Conservative Party, said: “It is the failed EU immigration policy that has created the ‘Jungle’ camp near Calais. The idea that leaving the EU would give us less control of our borders is simply preposterous.”

He added: “As the argument slips away from the Remain campaign they are forced to rely on desperate scaremongering.”

“We already have a process where air carriers transporting passengers with no visa are fined as well as being responsible for returning people they have flown to the country illegally. There is no reason why the same policy would not work for trains and ferries. And we should spend a small fraction of the savings from our current EU budget contributions on enhancing our border controls and ensuring that they operate effectively.”