Britain and France unveiled a sweeping set of agreements on nuclear deterrence and migration control cooperation.

by Xinhua Writers Zheng Bofei, Jin Jing

LONDON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a sweeping set of agreements on Thursday, marking a profound upgrade of bilateral relations through coordinated nuclear deterrence and a new migration control scheme.

NUCLEAR ALLIANCE

On the final day of Macron's three-day visit to Britain, Starmer announced the two sides had signed the Northwood Declaration -- a joint nuclear statement committing for the first time to coordinate their independent nuclear deterrents.

Speaking alongside Macron at the Permanent Joint Headquarters, Starmer described the Northwood Declaration as "truly historic," noting that the move comes in response to what both leaders described as "extreme threats" to European security.

"From today, our adversaries will know that any extreme threat to this continent would prompt a response from our two nations," he said.

Echoing his view, Macron said, "The decision is that we don't exclude the coordination of our respective deterrents. It's a message that our partners and adversaries must hear."

"We can conceive of no situation of extreme threat in Europe that would not prompt a rapid response on our part," he added, noting that an oversight committee would coordinate the cooperation between the two sides.

U.S. President Donald Trump's "questioning of burden-sharing in NATO and his overtures to Russia have led to existential questions in Europe about the trans-Atlantic relationship and Washington's commitment to helping defend its European allies," Reuters reported on Friday, noting that the continent's primary nuclear deterrence comes from the United States.

At the close of a NATO summit in The Hague last month, Macron, who has more than once called for greater European independence from the United States, urged Trump to halt trade tensions as NATO members agreed to hike defense spending.

"We cannot, among allies, say that we must spend more (on defense) ... and wage a trade war," Macron said.

Since returning to office, Trump has pushed NATO members to boost defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 -- a target European countries like Spain, Belgium and Slovakia view as difficult to achieve.

MIGRANT CONTROL

Starmer and Macron also unveiled a new "one in, one out" scheme aimed at curbing the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.

In the first half of 2025, illegal Channel crossings surged to over 20,000, a roughly 50 percent rise from the same period last year.

As part of the new plan, migrants arriving in Britain via small boats will be detained and returned to France. In exchange, Britain will accept a different individual who arrives via a newly established legal route. Entry will be limited to those who meet strict eligibility criteria and have not previously attempted illegal crossings.

"This is a groundbreaking pilot," said Starmer. "This is a scheme intended to break the model and make it clear that if you cross in a small boat, you'll end up where you started."

Macron acknowledged the strain migration has placed on northern French cities like Calais and Dunkirk, saying, "It's not a gift for these towns."

Meanwhile, he blamed the continued surge in illegal crossings on Brexit, noting that "Many people in your country believed that Brexit would make it easier to control illegal immigration. But the truth is quite the opposite -- since the UK no longer has a migration agreement with the EU, there are no legal pathways for admission or re-admission after someone crosses the Channel."

In response, Brexit supporter and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said, "Macron saying the two countries are drawing the future together has some credibility, but the test will be one of delivery on the many promises announced before it can be declared a major redrawing of the future."

"There will be difficult problems of implementation on both sides," he added.