Gavin Grey: Europe Correspondent on Germany tightening their people-smuggling laws

Germany is tightening its laws to make it harder to help smuggle migrants to the UK. 

Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany if it’s to another country outside of the EU – which now includes the UK. 

A plan has been made between the two countries that sees Germany tighten their laws and make it easier to prosecute those involved. 

Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey told Andrew Dickens that Germany had inadvertently become a central hub for the people-smuggling networks. 

He’s uncertain what effect this will have, as when one tentacle is cut in these networks, another seems to grow. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kevin Gray from the UK joins us Hellogavin either andrew
awful lot of Syrians, awful lot of Syrians in the UK.
So where is the UK standing on the Syrian issue
right now?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Well, they have decided to pause decisions on further Syrian
asylum claims after Basha Alisade was overthrown. The government's saying
the situation's moving fast. Some people are returning to Syria
following recent developments. But there's another theory. With so many
refugees out of Syria, some may actually, you know, think no,
actually that I'm going to try and make the journey anyway.

(00:32):
So there's almost fear, as it were, of a second wave.
Between twenty eleven and twenty twenty one, more than thirty
thousand Syrians were granted asylum in the UK. There was
a big program to allow them in. However, more than
nine thousand Syrians have also been picked up on the coast,
entering the country illegally, having crossed the channel in small boats. Indeed,

(00:52):
Syrians accounted for the fifth largest number of silent claims
in the year ending of September this year, and almost
all those who rec question asylum have been given the
right to stay. So the big question is now, with
this pausing, what will happen after that? And will some
of those some thirty forty thousand still estimated to be
in the UK, will they stay or will they actually

(01:14):
decide to go back to Syria.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
And so that explains why you see just incredible pictures
out a Trafagar Square of celebrations after what happened. But
here's the big question for the world, what will happen next. Meanwhile,
speaking of migrants, what's happening in Germany?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Well, believe it or not, Facilitating people smigling is not
technically illegal in Germany currently if that country that their
third country is outside the EU, and of course, following
Brexit that means the UK. So it is thought that
actually Germany has inadvertently become a central hub to the
people smiggling networks, using Germany as sort of warehousing for

(01:50):
boats and then getting the boats to the French shores
northern France in order to get across to the UK.
But Germany has finally agreed to tighten its law to
make it much easier to prosecute those helping to smuggle
migrants to the UK. A new plan has green agreed
by the two countries in the past. Our new Prime
Minister as of July Sekirstarmers said that many of the

(02:12):
previous plans by the previous governments simply weren't workable. He
said he was going to go after the people smugglers,
try to get cooperation from the rest in Europe and
perhaps this is a sign that this may help. However,
once you cover off one tentacle of these networks, have
seems that at least another one or two seem to grow.
So I'm not quite sure what effect this will have,
but so far andrew more than thirty three thousand across

(02:34):
the English Channel by small boats into the UK illegally.
That's considerably higher than the twenty nine thousand from all
of last year.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Good Sir Kevin Gray from the UK.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
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