UK set to sign migration deal with Serbia as Lammy visits Western Balkans
2 April 2025, 00:01
Britain and Serbia are set to sign a deal aimed at disrupting people-smuggling gangs as the Government continues its efforts to slash illegal migration.
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy will ratify the "co-operation agreement", first announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer nine months ago at the European Political Community summit in London, as he visits the Western Balkans this week.
Serbia often acts as a key transit route through which migrants enter the European Union and eventually the UK, with almost 22,000 irregular border crossings into the continent recorded last year, according to the Foreign Office.
During his visit, Mr Lammy will meet his counterparts to sign the agreement and hear directly from women who have survived human trafficking.
Fragmentation between authorities ‘open invitation’ to Channel gangs, says PM
He will also visit British troops serving in KFOR, Nato's largest overseas peacekeeping mission. European security is expected to be high on the agenda amid uncertainty over the future of the Ukraine war.
The Government said the UK-Serbia deal would allow both countries to share information more quickly, to disrupt organised immigration crime.
Ahead of the trip, Mr Lammy said: "(Criminals) are risking lives for profit and becoming increasingly violent in their determination to make as much money as possible.
"This diabolical, lawless trade of smuggling vulnerable people is completely unacceptable and we are determined to end it as we secure the UK's borders under our plan for change.
"With the world becoming more dangerous and unpredictable, the Western Balkans is of critical importance to the UK and Europe's collective security, and the UK remains committed to building resilience and stability in the region."
Almost 30,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats since Sir Keir became Prime Minister, including 6,642 so far in 2025.
Sir Keir earlier this week blamed the Conservatives for failing to prevent people-smuggling gangs targeting the UK, saying Labour inherited a "total fragmentation" of policing, Border Force and intelligence agencies.
He said the Government's Border Security Command would help address those gaps.
