On Wednesday 20 February, the EU Member States approved two legislative proposals aimed at mitigating the significant effects that a no-deal Brexit would have on the fisheries sector (see EUROPE 12178).
Following the agreement at the EU Ambassador level (Coreper), the Council will quickly adopt these texts without negotiating with the European Parliament, so that the emergency measures will be ready in the event of a chaotic exit of the United Kingdom from the EU on 29 March next.
The first proposal aims to allow fishermen and operators from EU Member States to receive compensation under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) in the form of temporary aid in the event of a cessation of fishing activities. This measure will help to off-set some of the impact of a sudden closure of UK waters to EU fishing vessels in a no-deal scenario.
The second amends the Regulation on the sustainable management of external fleets. Objective: To ensure that the Union is able to grant access to EU waters for United Kingdom vessels until the end of 2019, provided that EU-27 vessels also enjoy reciprocal access to British waters. The legislation is limited to 2019 and is based on the December 2018 agreement on fishing quotas. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)