German bid to close migrant boats loophole could face delay

There are growing doubts that Germany will tighten its laws this year to make it easier to prosecute small-boat smugglers, the BBC has learned.

Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany if it is to a third country, which the UK is after Brexit.

Germany has agreed to close the loophole by the end of 2025.

But now the Interior Ministry in Berlin says only that it intends to introduce the bill to the German parliament, or Bundestag, by that date – and has stopped short of guaranteeing a timeline for its final approval.

A spokesperson would not be drawn on whether time was running out ahead of the Christmas break – but told the BBC that the federal government had “no influence” over parliamentary process once a bill had been agreed by cabinet.

Some UK officials are increasingly unsure whether enough space is left in the Bundestag’s calendar this year, though the Home Office insists it has not been told of any setbacks by Berlin.

A staffer at the Bundestag, who is tracking the proposal, said there may “theoretically” be a sufficient window but admitted it did not appear to be a government priority.

It comes as France is backing away from a recent commitment to intervene more forcefully at sea to stop small boats, according to multiple sources contacted by the BBC.

The UK’s Labour government is under pressure to show that its emphasis on closer international collaboration – striking deals with other countries – can work as an effective strategy to tackle small boat crossings.

Last year, a BBC investigation exposed how Germany is used as a hub by small-boat smugglers to store dinghies that are then used for illegal English Channel crossings.

Berlin’s subsequent commitment to adapt the law – and make such activities more explicitly illegal – was lauded as “further evidence” by the UK that its approach was “bearing fruit”.

Any delay is likely to spark frustration in the UK, as it has long pressed Berlin to tighten its rules and enforcement.

A legal provision has been drafted to further expand “criminal liability for cross-border human smuggling to the United Kingdom”, according to the Interior Ministry in Berlin.

However, the ministry has not confirmed that the plans have yet to be approved by Cabinet – a necessary step before being laid before parliament.

The proposals are not widely known about in Germany, where the domestic debate focuses on internal levels of immigration.

There is also some scepticism in Berlin about how much difference the law change will make in meeting UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s repeated pledge to “smash the gangs”.

Germany’s announcement that it would change the law nearly a year ago came just months after the BBC’s investigation.

The following July, alongside a landmark treaty, the UK and Germany said that the aim was to for the Bundestag to adopt the legislation by the end of 2025.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the BBC at the time that he believed that not much time would be needed to enact the change after the summer recess.

It will give German prosecutors “more tools to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boats equipment”, according to the UK government.

Currently, investigators have to rely on “collateral crime” such as violence or money laundering – or have used judicial orders from other countries to carry out raids.

A UK Home Office spokesperson said: “We welcome the commitment from Germany to make it illegal to facilitate illegal migration to the UK.”

“The law change is expected to be adopted by the end of the year,” they said, while adding that the process was a matter for the German government.