British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced stricter migration measures and reached agreements on defense and nuclear cooperation, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
They also approved plans to support Ukraine in a ceasefire.
Britain agreed today with France on a pilot program to return migrants who arrive on British shores in small vessels, Prime Minister Starmer said, quoted by Reuters.
"Migrants who arrive in small vessels will be detained and returned to France in a fast-track procedure," the prime minister said at a joint press conference with Macron.
For each returned migrant, a another person "to come here on a safe route: controlled and legal, with strict checks being applied and only people who have not tried to enter the UK illegally being allowed in", Starmer specified.
Macron told the joint press conference that despite claims by Brexit supporters that by leaving the EU the UK would have greater control over its borders, the opposite had happened.
The record number of illegal migrants arriving in Britain by sea from mainland Europe shows that Brexit has failed in terms of promises of tighter border controls, Macron stressed.
British voters have been fed a lie, the French president also said.
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron co-chaired a video conference today of countries seeking to strengthen the defence of Ukraine.
The two countries stressed their desire to build closer ties after bilateral relations suffered in the wake of Britain's 2020 Brexit.
Macron and Starmer agreed to boost bilateral defense cooperation.
During a video conference of countries seeking to bolster Ukraine's defense, Starmer told U.S. envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg that it was time to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table to secure a peace agreement.
European plans to deploy peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after the war are "fully developed" after months of planning, Starmer said, quoted by DPA and PA Media.
Macron, in turn, described the so-called "coalition of the willing" as "ready for action" once a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine is agreed.
The planning began in March after a summit at Lancaster House in central London, with the aim of overseeing the future end to the conflict. At that meeting, European allies supported the Ukrainian cause after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House in late February.
According to the plans, troops from France and Britain will be deployed in Ukraine, and other countries will provide logistical support, with the aim of deterring further Russian aggression, DPA noted.
European leaders insist that the agreement will depend on "security guarantees" from the US, possibly in the form of air support - something that US President Donald Trump is reluctant to say openly that he will provide.
The British prime minister and the French president co-chaired the video conference of the "coalition of the willing" from the NATO command center in Northwood, UK. In addition to Kellogg, the video conference also included two US senators, one of whom was Lindsey Graham, who is pushing for drastic sanctions against Russia.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also joined the video meeting, joining from the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which was held in Rome.
With Starmer were British Defense Secretary John Healey, UK National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell and Admiral Tony Radakkin, Chief of the Defence Staff of the UK Armed Forces. Macron was joined by French Defence Minister Sebastien Le Corneille, as well as several French officials.
During the conversation on the final day of Macron's state visit to the UK, Starmer said he was pleased with the plans, which were now "fully developed" and ready to be implemented in the future.
Agreement was reached that the new base of the "coalition of the willing" would be in Paris, moving to London on a rotational basis after 12 months.
"Supporting Ukraine is not just the right thing to do, it is essential to ensuring security at home," the British prime minister said.
Starmer and Macron signed an agreement to expand nuclear cooperation between Britain and France, providing for the first time that the nuclear arsenals of the two countries can be coordinated.
"From today, our opponents will know that any extreme threat to this continent will result in a response from both of our countries. There is no greater demonstration of the importance of this relationship," said the leader of Britain's ruling Labour Party.
Macron said that London and Paris had set up an oversight committee to coordinate cooperation on nuclear deterrence.