Boris Johnson’s nod to fishermen
The British Prime Minister wore a fish-patterned tie at his press conference this afternoon. A nod to a particularly sensitive subject (and vector of tension) during the negotiations of the agreement: fishing.
As part of the deal reached on Thursday, the EU will transfer 25% of the value of products caught in British waters by European fleets to the UK, following a transition period running until June 2026. After this five-and-a-half-year period, access for European fishermen will be renegotiated each year, according to a document from the British government summarizing the agreement.
In practice, the agreement “allows a considerable increase on the part of fishermen [britanniques], equivalent to 25% of the value of European catches in UK waters “, says this Downing Street document. “This will represent 146 million pounds (approximately 160 million euros) for the British fleet” each year, at the end of the transitional period of the agreement, and “will increase the catches of UK fishermen in UK waters by around two thirds”, he specifies.
These terms correspond to the latest offer made by the British, after bitter discussions, another source close to the talks said earlier Thursday.
The EU had previously offered to give up around 25% of its fishing after a six-year transition, a European source said earlier in the week. London responded by proposing to Brussels to waive 35% for non-pelagic species, or 60% including pelagic species (high seas) over three years – unacceptable for Europeans.
In addition, according to the agreement announced Thursday, EU fishermen will retain guaranteed access until 2026 to areas between six and twelve nautical miles off the British coast (territorial waters), and in which they traditionally visited. .
