Britain and Germany: Standing Shoulder to Shoulder to Stop Small Boat Crossings

London, 19 December 2025 In a landmark development for international border security, Germany has passed new legislation criminalising the storage of boats and engines intended for smuggling migrants to the UK, with offenders facing up to 10 years in prison. This breakthrough represents the most significant step yet in the UK-Germany joint action plan to dismantle smuggling networks operating across Europe.

The new German law, enacted under the framework of the Kensington Treaty signed by the Labour government in December 2024, marks a decisive shift from rhetoric to action in tackling the criminal gangs that have exploited vulnerable migrants for years. Britain and Germany are now standing shoulder to shoulder in what officials describe as the most comprehensive international effort to restore order to Europe's borders.

🛡️ The German Legislative Breakthrough

Germany's new legislation represents a paradigm shift in European cooperation on migration enforcement. For the first time, a major EU nation has specifically criminalised the infrastructure supporting Channel crossings, creating a legal framework that directly targets the supply chains sustaining smuggling operations.

Legal Framework and Penalties

The new German law introduces comprehensive penalties for those involved in supporting smuggling operations:

• Primary Offence: Storage of boats and engines intended for UK smuggling operations
• Maximum Penalty: 10 years imprisonment for serious offences
• Extended Scope: Covers preparation, facilitation, and support activities
• Asset Seizure: Authority to confiscate equipment and proceeds of crime
• Cross Border Coordination: Enhanced powers for joint operations with UK authorities

Operational Impact

German law enforcement agencies now have enhanced powers to dismantle smuggling networks:

• Staging Ground Raids: Authority to target storage facilities and preparation sites
• Intelligence Gathering: Enhanced surveillance of suspected smuggling operations
• Preventive Action: Power to intervene before boats reach French staging areas
• Asset Recovery: Comprehensive seizure of smuggling infrastructure

📜 The Kensington Treaty: A New Framework for Cooperation

Signed in December 2024 by the Labour government, the Kensington Treaty establishes a binding legislative framework between the UK, Germany, and France designed to "smash the smuggling gangs" and restore order at Europe's borders.

Treaty Architecture

The treaty creates a comprehensive enforcement mechanism addressing every aspect of the smuggling supply chain:

Multilateral Approach

The Kensington Treaty represents Britain's commitment to multilateral solutions rather than unilateral action:

• French Partnership: Enhanced cooperation on immediate Channel crossing prevention
• German Collaboration: Targeting upstream supply chains and logistics networks
• Wider Partnerships: Integration with existing agreements covering Iraq and the Western Balkans
• EU Coordination: Working within European frameworks while respecting Brexit boundaries

🔍 Intelligence Sharing and Joint Operations

The treaty establishes unprecedented levels of intelligence cooperation between UK and European law enforcement agencies, creating a coordinated approach to dismantling criminal networks.

Operational Coordination

• Real time Intelligence: Shared databases tracking gang movements and activities
• Joint Task Forces: Multinational teams targeting specific criminal organisations
• Financial Intelligence: Coordinated tracking of smuggling proceeds and money laundering
• Technology Sharing: Advanced surveillance and tracking capabilities

Enforcement Results

Since 2023, the enhanced cooperation has delivered substantial operational success:

• 950+ Boats and Engines Seized: Comprehensive disruption of smuggling supply chains
• Network Dismantling: Major criminal organisations disrupted across multiple countries
• Asset Recovery: Millions in criminal proceeds confiscated
• Prosecution Coordination: Criminals pursued across borders with consistent sentencing

🌍 Wider European Context and Strategic Impact

The UK-Germany partnership represents part of a broader strategic realignment in how European nations approach migration enforcement, moving from national responses to coordinated international action.

European Cooperation in Action

Britain's strategy demonstrates that effective border security requires international partnership:

• France: Direct cooperation on Channel crossing prevention and migrant processing
• Germany: Upstream intervention targeting supply chains and logistics
• Iraq: Cooperation on source country interventions and return agreements
• Western Balkans: Regional partnerships addressing migration routes and smuggling networks

Visible Enforcement and Public Confidence

The comprehensive enforcement approach has delivered measurable results that build public confidence:

• Supply Chain Disruption: Over 950 boats and engines removed from circulation
• Gang Prosecutions: High-profile convictions deterring criminal involvement
• International Coordination: Demonstrable cooperation replacing previous policy fragmentation
• Comprehensive Strategy: Addressing both immediate crossings and upstream causes

⚖️ Legal Framework and Human Rights Balance

The Kensington Treaty and associated legislation carefully balance enforcement priorities with humanitarian obligations, ensuring that efforts to combat smuggling remain consistent with international law.

Legal Safeguards

• Targeting Criminals, Not Migrants: Clear distinction between smugglers and those being exploited
• Humanitarian Protections: Maintained pathways for legitimate asylum claims
• Due Process: Full legal protections for those arrested or prosecuted
• International Law Compliance: Operations conducted within UN Refugee Convention framework

Strategic Deterrence Model

The approach focuses on disrupting criminal incentives rather than punishing vulnerable migrants:

• Economic Disruption: Making smuggling operations financially unviable
• Operational Risk: Increasing likelihood of detection and prosecution
• Asset Seizure: Removing criminal profits and infrastructure
• Reputation Damage: High profile prosecutions deterring gang recruitment

🎯 Strategic Deterrence and Criminal Justice Impact

The combined effect of enhanced penalties, international cooperation, and comprehensive enforcement has fundamentally altered the risk-reward calculation for criminal gangs.

Criminal Gang Vulnerabilities

The new framework exploits structural weaknesses in smuggling operations:

• Supply Chain Dependencies: Gangs rely on specific equipment and staging areas vulnerable to disruption
• Cross Border Exposure: International operations create multiple jurisdictional vulnerabilities
• Financial Infrastructure: Money laundering networks exposed to coordinated financial intelligence
• Personnel Recruitment: Higher penalties and prosecution rates deter gang membership

Enforcement Innovation

The partnership has pioneered innovative enforcement approaches:

• Preventive Targeting: Disrupting operations before boats reach launch points
• Supply Chain Analysis: Tracking equipment from manufacture through deployment
• Financial Forensics: Following money flows to identify and prosecute gang leadership
• Technology Integration: Advanced surveillance and intelligence sharing systems

Conclusion: Partnership, Protection, and Principle

The passage of Germany's landmark legislation and the broader success of the Kensington Treaty framework represents a fundamental shift in how democratic nations address irregular migration. Since Brexit, little progress had been made in deterring Channel crossings, with criminal gangs exploiting the lack of coordinated international response.

The arrival of the Labour government marked a decisive change in approach, prioritising multilateral cooperation over unilateral action. By working closely with European partners, Britain has demonstrated that effective border security requires international partnership rather than isolation.

The German law criminalising smuggling infrastructure represents more than symbolic cooperation, it creates real operational capabilities that disrupt criminal networks at their source. The seizure of over 950 boats and engines demonstrates the partnership's concrete impact, choking off supply chains that sustain dangerous Channel crossings.

Crucially, this approach recognises that crossing the Channel itself is not illegal, the target is the criminal networks exploiting vulnerable people for profit. The Kensington Treaty framework ensures that humanitarian obligations remain respected while criminal gangs face coordinated enforcement across borders.

The success of this partnership offers a model for broader international cooperation on complex transnational challenges. By standing shoulder to shoulder with Germany and France, the UK has demonstrated that shared enforcement frameworks can achieve results that no nation can deliver alone.

This is not merely about deterrence, it represents a commitment to partnership, protection, and principle. Criminal gangs now face tougher penalties, fewer safe havens, and coordinated enforcement across multiple jurisdictions. For vulnerable migrants, it offers the promise of disrupting the dangerous criminal networks that exploit their desperation.