UK Seeks EU Go-Ahead to Broker Migrant Returns With Members

Policemen stand on the shore as migrants attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Great Britain, on Jan. 15. 

Photographer: Bernard Barron/AFP/Getty Images
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The UK is seeking a migration agreement with the European Union, which would allow it to broker separate deals with individual member states on the return of some migrants.

British envoys have proposed the establishment of a UK-EU “readmissions framework” in preparation for a joint summit next month, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity discussing policies that remain under debate. That wouldn’t amount to an EU-wide returns program, which is the bloc’s preference, but instead allow the UK to more easily reach bilateral agreements with countries such as France, they said.