Germany plans to tighten its laws to crack down on gangs smuggling immigrants into the UK by the end of the year, Downing Street said.
The announcement comes in parallel with a new UK-German contract covering areas such as migration, business and defense, which will be signed during Friedrich Merz’s first official visit to Britain on Thursday.
This change makes it illegal in Germany to promote illegal migration to the UK.
Promoting people’s smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany at present. This follows Brexit, including the UK, if it is a country other than the European Union.
Downing Street said the move would allow German authorities to investigate warehouses and storage facilities used by smugglers and use them to hide small boats intended for illegal channel intersections to the UK.
Berlin agreed to tighten the law in December under the previous government, but the new prime minister is expected to commit to changes in the law by the end of this year.
A BBC investigation last year revealed important German ties to small boat intersections, making the country a central location for boat and engine storage.
Ir Kiel said: “We welcome Prime Minister Mertz’s commitment to making necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of dangerous vessels carrying illegal immigrants across the channel.”
The German agreement comes a week after the UK announced a new pilot return scheme with France during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the state.
Under the “one” deal, several small boat arrivals are returned to France in exchange for the UK, which accepts asylum seekers with ties to the UK.
Prime Minister Kiel is under pressure to tackle the number of people crossing the waterways on small boats.
Over 21,000 people have traveled dangerously so far this year – an increase of 56% over the same period in 2024.
Conservative shadow interior secretary Chris Phillip argued that the figures showed “the channel crisis continues to spiral.”
“This is just as exhausting as chasing a headline from Keir’s Starge,” he said.
“He’s rushing to continue to be related to yet another gimmick, but this latest press release is a distraction, not a plan…
“This government clearly lost control of our borders and exposed the country when they cancelled our deterrents on our returns.”
Defense and security are also on the agenda of the visit, with leaders being set to discuss Ukraine’s support.
The pair announces new contracts to bolster UK defence exports such as boxer armored vehicles and typhoon jets through a joint export campaign for co-produced equipment.
Downing Street said the agreement will likely lead to billions of pounds of additional defence exports in the coming years, boosting the economy and employment.
The Cooperation Treaty also establishes a new UK-German business forum to promote investment in both countries.
The series of commercial investments in the UK have been announced to coincide with the visit, worth more than £200 million and creating more than 600 new jobs.
Among the companies involved is Stark, a defense tech company that creates 100 jobs through new Swindon facilities.
