UK to cooperate with Bulgaria, Serbia to curb people smuggling

The agreement with Bulgaria will put into operation a two-way partnership first unveiled in June, which is focused on information sharing and collaborative efforts to identify and dismantle the operational models of people-smuggling gangs, Sunak said in a statement published by the prime minister's office ahead of the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Spain.

Furthermore, the UK prime minister will agree a bilateral declaration with Serbia to promote joint efforts in combating organised immigration crime, considering the Balkan country's role as a key transit country on the Western Balkans migration route. Through this agreement, the UK and Serbia will boost cooperation on prosecuting and disrupting criminal networks, intelligence sharing and border management operations.

"Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade. With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable," Sunak said in the statement.

In December last year, the UK agreed with Albania on measures to tackle illegal migration, which include migrant return agreements and a new joint operational task force to manage illegal migration of Albanian citizens to the UK. In 2022, 28% of small boat arrivals to the UK were Albanian nationals. Between December last year and the first week of April, more than 1,000 Albanian nationals -- failed asylum seekers, foreign national offenders and voluntary returns, have been sent back to Albania, according to data published by the UK government.

The EPC was established as an intergovernmental forum after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Participants include heads of state or government from the 27 EU member states, while non-EU members from Southeast Europe are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, with Turkey and Ukraine also participating.