EU vessels will have to obtain a licence each year to fish in UK waters from January 2021, according to the draft UK negotiating document published on Tuesday 19 May, which confirms explosive negotiations on this dossier (see EUROPE 12421/4).
The UK has published a draft text ‘For a Fisheries Framework Agreement Between the UK and the EU’. The political declaration signed by the EU and Boris Johnson states that the parties want to reach an agreement on fisheries before 1 July 2020. But the parties have until the end of 2020 to reach an agreement (see EUROPE 12414/9).
According to this negotiating document submitted by London, EU fishing vessels will need a licence to fish in UK waters, following annual negotiations on the volumes that can be fished.
The text makes it clear that the UK will be an “independent coastal state” by the end of the year and calls for a new relationship, similar to the one between the EU and Norway, based on the principle of “zonal attachment” (the amount of fishing opportunities that will be available to each party will be based on the principle of zone-specific attachment).
The document states that the United Kingdom will ensure “continued sustainable and rational management of the fish stocks”, but makes it clear that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) will not be the vehicle for this management. The United Kingdom will no longer be bound by the CFP at the end of 2020, the text recalls.
To manage future disagreements, the UK suggests the creation of an EU/UK ‘fisheries co-operation forum’.
This forum would ensure the management, monitoring, control and enforcement of fisheries issues.
The text also specifies that the fisheries agreement between the UK and the EU could be suspended, with 2 years’ notice, in the event of a dispute that cannot be resolved.
To consult the UK document: https://bit.ly/3e1GY6R (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)