On the eve of the deadline to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union (EU), Royal Navy vessels stand ready to protect British fishing grounds where tensions could arise in the event of failure negotiations.
Especially since the Europeans’ proposal for a post-Brexit agreement “Remains unacceptable” for London, a British government source said on Saturday evening. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “Absolutely clear, an agreement must be fair and respect the position which is that the United Kingdom will be a sovereign country in three weeks”, she added, specifying that the negotiations would continue into the night and probably Sunday.
The European negotiator, Michel Barnier, also met on Saturday December 12 with his British counterpart, David Frost, in Brussels, for final discussions before the decision expected Sunday on the fate of the post-Brexit negotiations.
If no compromise is found, the UK, which formally left the EU on January 31, 2020 but continues to abide by EU rules during a transition period that ends on December 31, will regain full control of its countries. waters on 1er next january.
Four 80-meter-long vessels stand ready to prevent trawlers from EU countries entering UK waters if there is no new agreement on fishing rights, one of the sticking points trade negotiations.
The British Ministry of Defense confirmed that ships were on standby, explaining that they had “Conducted intensive planning and preparations to ensure that the defense is ready for various scenarios at the end of the transition period”, according to a spokesperson for the ministry. This deployment evokes bad memories of the “cod wars” with Iceland over fishing rights in the North Atlantic, which lasted for nearly twenty years, before finally finding a settlement in the 1970s.
Fishing, a source of tension in trade negotiations
Preparations for a “no deal” have accelerated in recent days on both sides of the Channel, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen showing pessimism about the outcome of the talks.
These block on three subjects: fishing, the settlement of disputes in the future agreement and the guarantees demanded of London by the EU in terms of competition. In the case of a “no deal”, trade on either side of the Channel risks being carried out only under the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), synonymous with customs duties and quotas.
Fishing has been one of the areas of tension in trade negotiations. Despite its negligible economic weight, the subject is crucial for several Member States (France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland), whose fishermen want to maintain access to British waters, which are full of fish.
The inflexibility of the two sides of the Channel did not make it possible to reconcile starting positions at the antipodes: the status quo in access to these waters on the European side, total control for London with quotas negotiated each year.
Retired Admiral Alan West, former Chief of the Naval Staff, saw fit to prepare for possible tensions in British waters. “It is entirely appropriate for the Royal Navy to protect our waters if the position is that we are a sovereign state and the government does not want to see fishing boats from another country there.”, he told the BBC.
“Poisoning” between France and the United Kingdom
Asked by the same outlet, former EU commissioner and former minister Chris Patten accused Mr Johnson of behaving in “English nationalist”. Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, former captain of the British army and chairman of the parliamentary committee on defense, feared that the image of the United Kingdom was tarnished. “We find ourselves facing the prospect of our already overwhelmed Royal Navy confronting a close NATO ally. [Organisation du traité de l’Atlantique Nord] on fishing rights’, he lamented on the BBC. “We must build alliances, not break them”, he pleaded.
Humza Yousaf, Scottish justice minister and member of the pro-European Scottish National Party, said “’Gunboat diplomacy’ will not be[it] not welcome in Scottish waters ”.
As for Tom Tugendhat, Conservative Chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, he tweeted in French that “The risk of poisoning the relationship” between France and the United Kingdom was “Real”.
The Defense Ministry said it has 14,000 soldiers ready to be deployed to help with the post-Brexit transition. According to British media, army helicopters could also be used to monitor the coasts.
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