UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced new sanctions against criminal migrant smuggling networks operating in the Balkans region. According to the official announcement, these networks help illegal immigrants reach British territory through irregular routes passing through the Western Balkans.
"There is a criminal route running through the Western Balkans that brings irregular migrants to the United Kingdom. We are determined to close it, in close cooperation with our European partners," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, stressing that his government would pursue a tough policy against all forms of human trafficking and illegal immigration.
The UK has long been grappling with a significant increase in the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. According to official data, since the beginning of 2025, the number of irregular migrants who have arrived on British shores has reached 36,734, and is expected to exceed the figures for 2024 by the end of the year.
According to a statement from the British Foreign Office, the new sanctions will target criminal groups in the Balkans involved in the sale of forged passports, as well as individuals who provide equipment and means of transport, including engines for boats used in the English Channel crossing. All individuals and groups included in the sanctions list will be banned from traveling to the United Kingdom, while they will be excluded from the British financial system, blocking their bank accounts and any financial activity on British territory.
On the same day, Prime Minister Starmer hosted the leaders of the six Western Balkan countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – in London for a special regional summit, also attended by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas.
According to the Foreign Office announcement, the main goal of the summit is to strengthen cooperation between the Balkan countries and the United Kingdom in the field of European security, the fight against illegal immigration and regional economic development.
