The draft EU Council recommendation authorising the opening of negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland insists that the future agreement must continue “reciprocal access” to the territorial waters of both parties, a request that is difficult for London to accept (see EUROPE 12421/4).
The EU and the UK have committed to do their utmost to conclude and ratify their new fisheries agreement by 1 July 2020.
The envisaged partnership should include fisheries provisions in its economic chapter, as provided for in the draft mandate to be approved by the EU Council on Tuesday 25 February. The position of the ‘eight fishing Member States’ is supported by the other EU countries.
Avoiding economic “dislocation”. The objective of the fisheries provisions should be to maintain the Union’s fishing activities as mandated. In particular, they should “aim to avoid economic dislocation for Union fishermen that have traditionally fished in the United Kingdom waters”.
The fisheries provisions should: – provide for continued reciprocal access for EU and UK vessels to EU and UK waters for all relevant species; – define stable quota shares that can only be adjusted with the consent of both parties; – provide for arrangements for quota exchange and for setting annual or multiannual total allowable catches.
The aim is to have fully liberalised market access for all goods, which will be delineated by the fisheries agreement, the Commission explains.
The deadline for negotiating such an agreement is very short, “but it is in our mutual interest to conclude the fisheries agreement in good time, so that it can be implemented from 1 January 2021 to ensure sustainable fisheries management”, it argues. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)