On Tuesday 22 October in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved the European Commission's proposal of 5 September on extending emergency measures in the fisheries sector until the end of 2020, in the event of the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU without a deal (see EUROPE 12340/10).
The text, which has yet to be formally approved by the Council of the EU, provides a framework for EU and UK fishermen to maintain access to their respective waters in 2020.
The Act amends EU Regulation 2017/2403 for the year 2020 to provide a legal basis in EU law which provides, on the one hand, for British vessels to be able to conduct fishing activities in EU waters and, on the other hand, for the introduction of simplified authorisation procedures for EU vessels wishing to fish in UK waters.
The Regulation also allows for the continuation of the practice of trading fishing quotas with the United Kingdom. The report by Chris Davies (Renew Europe, UK) approving the emergency measures for fisheries was adopted with 574 votes in favour, 24 against and 2 abstentions.
The draft Brexit agreement provides for the negotiation of a new agreement on future EU-UK bilateral relations on fisheries by July 2020. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)