On Monday, 25 May, the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries adopted the opinion written by François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, France) on recommendations for negotiations for a new fisheries partnership with the UK. The European Parliament will vote on future EU-UK relations in June (see EUROPE 12478/18).
According to MEPs, no comprehensive agreement, “including on trade”, can be concluded between the EU and the UK unless it includes a “complete, balanced and long-term agreement on fisheries and fisheries-related matters, upholding the continuation under optimal conditions of access to waters, resources and markets of the parties concerned, as well as the existing fishing activities”, according to a compromise amendment approved by MEPs.
MEPs also call for the future EU-UK trade agreement to include a ‘safeguard clause’ stipulating that any violation of the reciprocal access clauses to waters and resources would result in a “suspension of preferential tariffs for UK products on the EU market”.
Relative stability. Chair of the Committee on Fisheries Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, France) commended the committee’s “unambiguous” position (reciprocal access to waters and resources, safeguard clause, etc.). He was also pleased with the adoption of an amendment referring to ‘relative stability’ in the allocation of fishing opportunities. This position is diametrically opposed to that of the British, who are calling for an allocation of quotas based on ‘zonal attachment’.
Some MEPs attempted to cut all references to the principle of relative stability—an attempt that aimed to give the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, some breathing room to find a compromise on fisheries. “The European Parliament must not undermine the EU’s legitimate demands based on the history of fishing rights”, Mr Karleskind told EUROPE. On Tuesday, 26 May, Michel Barnier held a meeting via videoconference with several European fisheries ministers to discuss the ongoing negotiations.
MEPs are also insisting that UK fisheries and aquaculture products entering the internal market must “comply with the same environmental, social, sanitary, and phytosanitary standards as EU fisheries and aquaculture products”.
In their view, if the transition period extension is approved, the current allocation of total allowable catches and quotas should be extended accordingly in order to ensure legal certainty for the fisheries sector.
“Fisheries must not be an adjustment variable or a political symbol in the Brexit equation,” cautioned Bellamy. The European Parliament wants the fisheries sector to operate “as closely as possible to the current situation”, he added. “Otherwise, we will veto the post-Brexit Treaty,” he concluded. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)