At issue is the constant denial of licenses for French boats to fish in British waters, France claims.
French authorities seized a British trawler on Thursday, the latest episode in the soap opera of the post-Brexit situation between the UK and the European Union, in this case about the laws of fishing rights.
One ship was stopped near Le Havre at dawn this Thursday and was then redirected to the port’s quay and returned to the judicial authorities for not having the necessary license to fish in French waters. The seized boat was later identified as Cornelis Gert Jan.
The trawler will be in the custody of the judicial authorities and all fish you have on board will be confiscated. The boat can only leave the site after payment of a deposit.
A second vessel received a verbal warning and was fined for refusing entry by the maritime police to verify the license.
In a statement, the French government said that surveys were routine, but admitted that they were made “in the context of the discussion on licenses with the UK and the European Commission”.
The owners of the ship in question revealed to the The Guardian that the vessel was registered and authorized by the British authorities to fish in European Union waters, including French ones.
Boris Johnson did not comment directly on the incident, but his office said it was following the case. The Minister of the Environment, George Eustice, believes that the vessel had the necessary license, but that it was removed from the list by “unclear” reasons.
Discussions between the two countries have increased in tone in recent months, with the France getting impatient with the responses of the UK authorities to the applications of French vessels for authorization to fish in British waters, which are now covered by the agreement between the EU and the country signed last Christmas.
Paris even issued an ultimatum on Wednesday: either French ships receive more licenses or will ban British fishing boats to take seafood to several major ports from Tuesday next week and to increase sanitary and customs inspections.
France also threatened to mess with the power supply to the island of jersey if the initial threat does not bring enough results.
Eustice responded to France’s demands in the House of Commons this Thursday, saying the comments “are not what one would expect from a close ally” and left veiled threats of retaliation. The British government also considered the French attitude “disappointing and disproportionate” and promised that he will respond “in an appropriate and calibrated way”.
The French Minister for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, was fed up with the British impasse, accusing them of making a “political choice”. “Now we need to speak in the language of force, as it seems to be the only language the British government understands,” he criticized. “We have been extremely patient, our fishing boats have been extremely responsible, because it is a huge loss of activity. As of November, it’s over. We will open the dialogue if the British want to dialogue – it depends on them – but we will apply retaliatory measures because there is no reason for us not to have access to their waters when they have access to our ports”, he concluded.
Beaune also compared the situation to the UK’s refusal to implement the post-Brexit protocol for the Northern Ireland border, which has also caused headaches for the European Union.
in Brussels, still there is no agreement between the 27 member states for the dispute resolution mechanism provided for in the post-“Brexit” agreement to be activated.
The agreement signed between the EU and the UK provides for a transition period until 2020, with the gradual reduction of fishing quotas on both sides in the waters of the other. For now, London must continue to guarantee the access of 27-year-old boats to its waters by issuing licenses. After 2026, quotas will be traded annually.
The UK says it has already issued 1700 licenses to European boats, but France has responded by saying that half of French ships’ requests were denied. The British defended themselves, saying 35 licenses were denied for failing to prove they regularly fished in the area between six to 12 nautical miles off the coast of the British Isles.
