France called on the European Commission, on Thursday 22 April, to act “firmly” to ensure the implementation of the post-Brexit fisheries agreement between the EU and the UK.
The Minister for the Sea, Annick Girardin, and the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, have, in a joint press release, reiterated “the need for firm and determined action by the European Commission to ensure the full application of the agreement” (see other news).
“The full issuance of licences for access to UK waters, rapid resolution of key issues such as forward bases must be ensured as soon as possible”, they argue.
More than a hundred fishermen mobilised on Thursday night in Boulogne-sur-Mer to protest against the “lie” of the post-Brexit agreement on fishing.
Fishermen are complaining about the delay in granting licences to access UK waters. Under the agreement, the UK must issue fishing licences for the 6-12 nautical mile zone. However, according to the French, the UK has only granted licences for 22 out of 120 vessels to enter UK waters.
The Commission had recently indicated that the licences for certain EU vessels fishing in Jersey and Guernsey have been extended until the end of June, pending agreement on a longer period (see EUROPE 12697/12).
The Commission has already processed all applications. At the press briefing on Friday 23 April, a Commission spokesperson assured that the first priority in the fisheries sector was “to ensure that licence applications can be processed very quickly”. He added that the Commission no longer has any licence applications being processed by its services, but they want to ensure that the UK grants these licences. Only about 20 applications from EU fishermen are said to be pending. “So there is nothing left on the Commission’s desk; everything is still pending with the UK authorities on these twenty applications”, the institution added. Access to British territorial waters is based on historical data. Only vessels with the necessary catch history can obtain authorisation. 87 vessels have been authorised so far. For the 21 additional vessels, the Commission is awaiting British confirmation.Link to the press release in French: https://bit.ly/3v600S6 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)