Germany and France: Together against irregular migration

type: News , Date: 26 January 2023

Joint German and French police patrols along the border between the two countries will help to better manage migration.

At the Franco-German Council of Ministers on 22 January 2023, Federal Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser and her French counterpart Gérald Darmanin agreed to deploy a joint police unit involving Germany’s Federal Police and the French border police to combat irregular migration. This police unit will carry out joint patrols at the border of the two countries in order to better respond to migration flows.

Joint protection of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

The aim for the joint French and German unit that has already been set up with staff from the Federal Police and the Gendarmerie is to continue to work closely together. Among other things, it will be deployed to help ensure security at major events such as the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. In addition, the German and French ministers addressed the cooperation between the countries’ authorities in fighting cybercrime.

Germany and France to work together on EU reforms

Germany and France agreed to closely coordinate their views on key reforms of EU home affairs policy. These reforms focus on

  • strengthening the Schengen area: maintaining the freedom of movement and ensuring better protection of external borders;
  • the European Pact on Migration and Asylum: envisaged adoption by spring 2024;
  • migration: enhancing partnerships with key countries of destination and transit, combating human smuggling and promoting the return of people residing illegally in the EU;
  • strengthening and intensifying operational police cooperation among the EU member states.