MEP Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, France) was elected by acclamation as Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries, on Wednesday 19 February, after the UK's exit from the EU (see EUROPE 12415/4).
"This mandate promises to be particularly dense for the fishing committee", he said. First, a fisheries agreement will have to be negotiated with the UK before 1 July. He says that the negotiations for this fisheries agreement must absolutely be inseparable from the discussions on an economic partnership with the United Kingdom. "We demand reciprocal access to the waters! That is to say, identical conditions to those we have now must be upheld – not more, not less. This must be a condition for the conclusion of an economic agreement", commented Pierre Karleskind (see EUROPE 12418/7). Another priority as head of the committee will be debates on updating the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which is "not sufficiently armed to meet the climate challenges of today and tomorrow". According to him, the pressure of fishing as well as water pollution and climate change must be taken into account. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)