Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on strengthening EU-wide border controls, coast guard provision and asylum systems in order to treat people arriving in Europe swiftly and with due diligence on account of EU legislation.

The Home Secretary regularly discusses migration issues with European counterparts, both during bilateral discussions and other forums such as Justice and Home Affairs Council, even though the UK has retained its border controls and decides UK participation in individual European measures on a case by case basis.

We regularly discuss the importance of work by other European countries to strengthen EU-wide border controls through increased checks and effective swift processing of asylum applications, improved cooperation between national and EU agencies, and improvements to European asylum systems. We are clear on the importance of this work as part of a comprehensive approach to tackling illegal migration into Europe.