By Carole Landry
Evian-Les-Bains, France - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown joins French President Nicolas Sarkozy in this Alpine town on Monday to prepare for the G8 and agree on new efforts to stem the flow of migrants.
The 30th Franco-British summit in Evian-les-Bains follows up on Sarkozy's high-profile state visit to London in March last year when Brown proclaimed that relations were on the upswing.
It comes two days before the Group of Eight leading powers gather in the quake-stricken Italian town of L'Aquila to address a host of world problems, from the global slowdown to climate change and the Iran crisis.
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Meeting on the shores of Lake Geneva, Sarkozy and Brown are to issue a joint call for G8 action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, halt erratic oil prices and closely monitor banks after the 2008 financial meltdown.
France and Britain will sign an agreement to strengthen immigration controls on both sides of the Channel by boosting patrols and committing more resources, French officials said.
The deal will help Sarkozy's government fulfil its pledge to shut down by the end of the year a squatter camp in northern France used as a springboard by migrants trying to reach Britain.
France has long urged Britain to help it deal with the migrant problem in the port of Calais, where hundreds of would-be asylum seekers living in tent camps try to sneak on trucks that cross the Channel by ferry or train.
Accompanied by top government ministers, the two leaders are to push for a plan to contain the volatility of oil prices, now trading at below $70 (about R560) a barrel, less than half of the 145-dollar-a-barrel peak in July last year.
"We all need more energy price stability. High oil prices greatly destabilise the global economy," Sarkozy said during a recent visit to Abu Dhabi.
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