On Monday 11 October in Luxembourg, France received the support of ten EU Member States in its battle to obtain more fisheries licences for British waters.
In fact, a statement criticising the UK's position was put forward by France and supported by Spain, Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. This text focussed on ‘The proper implementation of the Fisheries Chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement’.
“We call on the United Kingdom to provide a response as soon as possible and to engage in further technical work in accordance with the spirit and the letter of the Agreement. This response is necessary so that the upcoming fisheries negotiations with our British partner can be approached calmly, whether we are discussing shared quotas, technical measures, the landing obligation or the preservation of level playing field conditions in the fisheries sector, thereby avoiding any unilateral interpretation of the Agreement”, stated the text of the declaration.
Nine months after the entry into force of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK's response on 28 September to requests that were made for access to the UK's 6-12 nautical mile zone and the waters of the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey (the Channel Islands) “requires further supplements” said the statement.
On Monday, EU fisheries ministers discussed the EU's priorities in light of the upcoming negotiations with the UK on 2022 fisheries opportunities regarding stocks shared by both parties.
Annick Girardin, the French Minister for the Sea, referred in this context to the issue surrounding the insufficient number of fisheries licences granted by the United Kingdom to French vessels so that they can fish in British waters (see EUROPE 12808/12). She insisted that this was an issue affecting the whole of the EU, since what was at stake was the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
France once again found that the UK was not complying with the provisions of the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement in relation to access to UK waters.
According to France, the UK has introduced new conditions that were not included in the agreement. By way of example, the British require geolocation proof. This required proof is difficult to provide for most vessels that are smaller than 12 metres. France did provide further evidence.
Out of 455 definitive licences that Paris applied for, the UK authorities accepted 275 of them definitively (https://bit.ly/3aqBu5N - text in French).
Work is set to continue on possible retaliatory measures.
Link to the declaration signed by 11 EU Fisheries Ministers: https://bit.ly/30bs2kR (text in French) (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)