France's Macron seeks more cooperation with UK on migration

PARIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said he sought better cooperation with Britain to handle cross-channel migration.

"A large majority of migrants in Calais do not want to stay in France. To them, France is only a passage (to reach Britain)," Macron said.

During his upcoming official visit to Britain on Jan. 18, the French president plans to ask Prime Minister Theresa May to do more to better deal with the flows of migrants.

"I will discuss with May several elements that we need to improve in our common management: better handling of isolated minors, strengthening police cooperation with Calais and unlocking funds for important projects," he said.

Facing strong migration pressure, European countries need to work on a common asylum mechanism, the president reiterated, urging his partners to bridge differences on asylum regulations.

At home, Macron pledged "a new policy" based on "humanism, unconditional welcome and respect of asylum right."

"To everyone we must guarantee a dignified and human welcome. To all we must give a quick answer and a real chance to integrate," he stressed.

He proposed slashing the time to treat asylum requests to six months from 18. In addition, he offered additional 20,000 shelters for refugees and to take in a further 4,000 asylum seekers in 2018.

"I made commitments. We'll go till the end and keep them," he told a gathering of police in Calais, where thousands of migrants from Africa and Middle East lived in poor conditions in "the jungle" camp before it was dismantled by authorities.

Meanwhile, he stood firm against preventing more "illicit" camps in the port city, saying "in no case will we allow another 'jungle' here".

"Everything is being done to prevent illegal crossings in Calais which is not a back door to Britain," he added. Enditem