The French Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, said on Friday 15 October in Brussels that she wanted a solution by 1 November regarding the fishing licences granted to French vessels by the United Kingdom and the Channel Island of Jersey and said she would not rule out anything, including retaliatory measures.
The deadline remains “mandatorily 1 November, since the end of October is the last deadline for Jersey to give its answers to the licence applications” of French fishermen and women, who have until that date to provide Jersey with the required documents, she explained to a group of journalists, after a meeting with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, and the Commissioner responsible for fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
The meeting was attended by a delegation of French fishermen and women (Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France). “We are waiting for a strong Europe that defends its fishermen and women”, commented Ms Girardin.
“Nothing is off the table, including retaliatory measures”, Ms Girardin warned. “The Commission must list the retaliatory measures foreseen in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It is clear that if the Commission does not act, if the UK and Jersey do not deliver on transparency and trust, we will have to be able to act on our own”, she warned.
“We are two weeks away from this (Jersey) decision. Nothing is ruled out today, not by France nor by the European Commission”, which is negotiating on behalf of the EU with the United Kingdom, the Minister stressed. The meeting of the ‘Partnership Council’, requested by France from the European Commission, is not excluded either.
On Wednesday 13 October, France announced that it would take “counter” or even “retaliatory measures in about eight days” if Jersey did not grant more licences to French fishermen and women. Among other things, Paris is threatening to cut electricity supplies to the island and target its key financial services sector.
The French Minister recalled that on 11 October, France had obtained the support of 10 EU Member States (fishers) in its fight to obtain a higher number of fishing licences in British waters (see EUROPE 12809/2).
In the fishing zones still under dispute (6-12 mile zone off the British coast and the Channel Islands), London and Jersey have granted a total of some 200 definitive licences, while Paris is still seeking around 200, including around 100 for Jersey and almost 60 for the neighbouring island of Guernsey.
The local government of Jersey announced on Friday that it had granted two additional licences to French fishers, while calling for calm and judging the threats from Paris “disproportionate”.
Link to the Ministry’s press release published on Monday 18 October (in French): https://bit.ly/3aNI7iP (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)