EU could force Britain to take asylum seekers in return for access to new crime databases
Access to the EU's fingerprinting system may come with a crucial cost.
The EU could force Britain to take asylum seekers in return for the UK gaining access to European intelligence databases.
Known as Eurodac the EU’s fingerprinting system is used to identify asylum seekers and illegal migrants by having access to this system the UK could identify where migrants may have previously applied and been rejected in Europe before coming to the UK.
The new partnership with Europol would aim to put “Britain’s police at the heart of pan-European efforts” to counter people smuggling, according to a Labour policy document.
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However, Labour's plan to seek this database may come with a crucial cost with one EU source questioning "What’s in it for us?”
It is believed by sources in Brussels that Labour’s plan to negotiate access to Eurodac would be a precursor to a wider returns deal, according to the Telegraph with an EU diplomat clearly stating that the "new EU migration pact works as a package.”
An EU diplomat said: “In practice that [access to Eurodac] would probably be feasible as part of a package that also includes application of other relevant regulations by the UK.”
Asked if that meant a returns deal, they added: “Not necessarily, but the new EU migration pact works as a package.”
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Labour sources said they were not seeking to use Eurodac for a returns agreement but instead simply seeking access to the information.
James Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, warned that “the EU don’t give anything away for free".
He continued: "We always said Labour’s plan to do a deal with the EU would mean quota sharing and here we are. At the very first hurdle, Labour have fallen flat.”
Labour could let more than 100,000 migrants apply for asylum after scrapping Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman suggested on Monday.
At least 90,000 migrants who were set for deportation to Rwanda will be among the 102,000 who will be processed through the asylum system.