The chair of the committee on fisheries of the European Parliament, Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, France), is satisfied overall by the agreement on future fishing relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. In an interview with EUROPE, however, he expresses concern at the resulting quota reductions and incipient customs difficulties. The fisheries committee will begin its examination of the terms of the agreement on Monday 11 January, ahead of the approval in plenary of the whole text (interview by Lionel Changeur).
Agence Europe – Are you relieved that an agreement has been reached on the future arrangements on fishing with the United Kingdom?
Pierre Karleskind – Yes, but I am not hailing it as a great victory. There are some details of the agreement still to be clarified. We have already seen the first problems arising for a number of weapons in the arsenal, such as reductions in quotas and administrative problems.
Such is the case, for instance, for vessels fishing in western Scotland and landing their catches on the continent. The British have not yet put in place the necessary infrastructure to allow for the goods landed in Scottish ports to clear customs. The conditions imposed by the British are preventing businesses, French ones in particular, from going about their normal activities.
The post-Brexit deal makes provision for a transition period of five and a half years, up to summer 2026, during which EU fishermen will gradually give up 25% (in value terms) of their annual catch in British waters. How is this 25% going to be shared out?
The 25% is not set out in the agreement, it stems from the agreement. In the appendix to the text there is a table that provides the details, for each zone and fish stock, of the evolution over the next five and a half years of the share of fish that the EU and the United Kingdom may catch. For instance, for saithe in western Scotland, it starts off at 62 (EU)/38 (UK) in 2021 and ends up at 49/51 in 2025. Multiplied by the value of the fish, the data in this table give a result of just over 25% in terms of the reduction in quotas for EU vessels.
How will quotas be negotiated with the United Kingdom over this five-and-a-half-year period?
At this stage, I have not been provided with any information as to how quotas will be shared out between member states of the EU. This is decided by the Council of the EU. However, I hope that the historic distribution key (relative stability) will continue to be used so as to ensure a fair share-out of the quota reductions between EU countries.
Under international law, the EU and the United Kingdom will be responsible for the joint management of around 100 shared fish stocks. How will this cooperation be organised?
The purpose of the management of stocks is to abide by the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Every year, the two sides will have to agree on total allowable catches (TAC). The 25% reduction will correspond to the value of fish caught in 2020. We will see the reality of this 25% in the future. It could be more or less than 25%.
The agreement provides for annual negotiations from 2026 onwards. Will the suspensive clauses be enough to deter the United Kingdom from closing its waters to EU vessels?
From 2026, we will hold bilateral negotiations along the lines of the procedure with Norway, although the EU shares many more stocks with the UK.
This will give us time to prepare an agreement that guarantees a minimum level of visibility for the fishing industry on either side of the English Channel. We also need safeguards to avoid being constantly in negotiations. There is also the question of access to the 6-12 mile zone (which is provided for unconditionally for the five-and-a-half-year period) after 2026.
Finally, a system of sanctions is provided for: if the British go too far in their demands, the Europeans may set in place customs tariffs and import quotas for fisheries products. We need to make sure that these mechanisms are robust enough to guarantee predictability for the EU industry.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has said that the agreement will require efforts to be made. What will this mean in terms of aid to the fleet?
As soon as possible this year, we must identify the level of aid to be earmarked for fisheries professionals over the course of the transition period. It has been my observation that there have been relatively few applications in Brittany for vessel scrappage aid. The profession has not thrown in the towel, it wants to continue to invest.
The Brexit adjustment fund provides for a total of five billion euros. I hope that we will not need all of it – particularly as the ‘no deal’ scenario has been avoided.
The agreement on fishing is not a total disaster and I await proposals from the Commission on aid. The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2021-2027 (EMFF) will have to be earmarked for structural changes in the fishing industry, rather than economic assistance resulting from the effects of Brexit.