Foreign Secretary calls for stronger partnerships to boost British border security during trip to Germany
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-20)

UK and Germany re-double efforts to tackle illegal migration and crack down on people smuggling gangs in Europe

- UK and Germany re-double efforts to tackle illegal migration and crack down on people smuggling gangs in Europe
- Foreign Secretary to say greater collaboration with partners needed to keep the UK’s borders safe
- UK set to announce new action to bear down on Russian cyber criminals
People smugglers across Europe will face renewed efforts to dismantle and destroy their business models this week, as the Foreign Secretary visits Germany to drum up support from partners to protect borders and tackle organised immigration crime.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will be in Berlin to drive forward her mission to forge international partnerships that tackle illegal migration and bolster border security together.

Meeting her German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, the Foreign Secretary will underline the need to use all means necessary to take on criminal gangs, from intercepting small boats en route to the Channel, to ensuring international legal frameworks can deal with today’s migration challenges.

She will also mark progress on the new German law to criminalise smuggler gangs storing small boats which was agreed as part of the Kensington Treaty in July and is due to complete its passage into law through the German Parliament by the Christmas break.

The new law that the Foreign Secretary has championed means that German police and the UK’s National Crime Agency can take action on the warehouses and industrial supply chains run by organised immigration crime gangs who operate in the Channel.

The visit comes as the government has announced sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration and remove incentives that draw illegal migrants to come to Britain. Only by having a system that is strongly controlled and managed can Britain maintain the public’s confidence in providing sanctuary for those genuinely fleeing danger.

The Foreign Secretary’s visit comes amidst ongoing operations led by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and partner agencies across Europe to target the criminal smuggling gangs, with nearly 200 arrests in the past year.

The UK and Germany work closely together to tackle organised immigration crime as part of our Joint Action Plan on Illegal Migration – earlier this month, an individual suspected of being a high-ranking member of a Syrian people smuggling gang was arrested by the NCA in Manchester. The individual is wanted by the German authorities on seventeen separate charges.

Last December, NCA officers also supported a major operation in Germany targeting an Iraqi people smuggling network, resulting in 13 arrests, and the seizure of 21 boats and 24 engines, alongside life jackets, pumps and cash.

Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper said:

Together with Germany we are taking new action to stop illegal small boat crossings, to strengthen border security and to go after the criminal smuggler gangs who have been storing boats and equipment in German warehouses. As a result of the landmark Treaty we signed earlier in the year, Germany is now set to change its law by Christmas so our police can jointly go after the smugglers and traffickers and their vile trade in human lives

Criminal smuggler gangs operate across borders, so governments and law enforcement need to cooperate across borders to bring them down.

Our partnerships with other countries alongside our reforms to the broken asylum system are crucial to restoring order and control and strengthening our border security.

Both countries will also discuss the urgent need to continue defending Europe from malicious Russian hybrid activity, with the Foreign Secretary expected to announce fresh action to crack down on underground cyber networks.

As key Coalition of the Willing and G7 partners, the UK and Germany are working in lockstep to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. The UK and Germany have been key players in support for Ukraine and both increased the pressure on Russia by bearing down on revenues and cutting off critical military supplies.

The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Wadephul will hold the annual UK-Germany Strategic Dialogue, building on the success of the Kensington Treaty signed in July, and looking ahead to German President Steinmeier’s State Visit to the UK in December.

Since taking office the government has been fixing the foundations of the asylum system, returning nearly 50,000 people with no right to be here - saving taxpayer millions in asylum costs. The UK continues to play a leading international role in tackling organised immigration crime, including through ground-breaking returns deals with Vietnam, Iraq and France, and strengthened cooperation with countries across the Western Balkans.

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