The European Commission acknowledged to the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries on Thursday 11 November that some of the fishing licences requested by EU countries to operate in UK waters were “problematic”.
Fabrizio Donatella, Director General at DG MARE, said that current discussions with the UK included the sensitive issue of ‘replacement vessels’ (31 applications being discussed for new vessels wishing to fish in UK waters).
Mr Donatella said that so far, more than 1,673 EU vessels have had access to the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) since the beginning of the year.
With regard to the situation in British territorial waters, Mr Donatella reported that 103 vessels had obtained permanent licences for 2021. “There are still a number of licences that have not been granted and which are the subject of discussions we are having with the UK authorities” the Director General said.
In the Channel Islands, 113 vessels have been granted a permanent licence in the waters around Jersey. Two categories of vessels are provided for: those whose temporary licences run until the end of January 2022 (the file must be finalised before they can be converted into permanent licences) and those whose temporary licences expired at the end of October. “They have not been able to demonstrate the elements on the basis of what is provided for in the cooperation agreement” said Fabrizio Donatella. The Commission hopes that a number of these licences will be converted into full licences very quickly.
For Guernsey, a system of temporary monthly licences has been instituted and the latest discussions should lead to a “securing of these licence applications beyond the 30 days” Fabrizio Donatella hoped.
“We are working intensely with everyone. We are faced with situations where requests sent to us by Member States are problematic, as they do not enable, in general or on certain points, full compliance with the obligations set out in the cooperation agreement”, he concluded.
Lassitude on the European Parliament side. Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spain) said the UK’s ‘no’ to licences was unacceptable, while Peter van Dalen (EPP, Netherlands) was rather pessimistic about the chances of getting more licences. Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA, France) spoke of the “frustration” of the French fishermen concerned. She noted that the problem arises for vessels of 12 metres or less and regretted that only the United Kingdom has rules on how to grant such licences to small vessels.
The chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries, Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, France), noted that it was known that the licences expired at the end of October. “In September, the Commission was asked to raise the issue to the political level. However, I do not see a meeting between David Frost and the Vice-President of the Commission until 3 November, after the deadline. I don’t understand how this issue is taken politically by the European Commission”.
Sanctions? François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, France), rapporteur on the ‘fisheries component’ of Brexit, highlighted the distress of fishermen who received only temporary licences. Mr Bellamy said that the vessels whose applications were rejected had provided evidence of prior fishing rights, “but this evidence is not recognised by the UK side”. “There is no call for optimism today” in EU/UK relations, he summed up for the Commission. The Commission must implement the post-Brexit agreement, “including the potential sanctions component”, Bellamy concluded. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)