Brussels has requested that the UK grant a significant role to EU judges in its efforts to address the issue of small boats crossing the Channel, as a condition for receiving additional assistance with the migrant crisis. Andy Burnham plans to utilize an upcoming summit to negotiate a new agreement that would restore access to EU migrant and criminal databases, which the UK lost following Brexit.
The EU is reportedly demanding that the UK allow oversight of its data usage by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), based in Luxembourg, and also pay a fee. The ECJ currently has a contentious role in overseeing the Windsor Framework, which regulates the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, established under a deal by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Any further transfer of powers is expected to provoke backlash from Brexiteers, who feel that EU nations are not adequately addressing the migrant situation. Tory deputy leader Alex Burghart commented to the Telegraph, stating, 'If access to EU databases means handing over taxpayers' money and accepting ECJ oversight, Labour must explain the price.'
Last year, the EU rejected a proposal from Sir Keir Starmer to access the bloc's crime and illegal migration databases. The Schengen Information System provides EU member states with real-time alerts regarding criminal suspects, while Eurodac is a fingerprinting system that maintains records of all illegal migrants apprehended while attempting to enter the EU without authorization.
In the Commons on Monday, Mr. Burnham addressed his Brexit reset, stating, 'One of the most positive aspects of my meeting with President von der Leyen in New York was her openness to the conversation about restoring data sharing on immigration across Europe. That is something that Britain has long sought in the decade since Brexit. It is the control that we lost, actually, at the time of the referendum. It is one issue that does not get enough attention and it should get more. I say to my hon. Friend that I will work hard to see if we can get a practical arrangement on that very issue at the summit in November.'