Negotiations continue, but Paris is losing patience. France, which is still waiting for the British authorities to issue 73 licenses to its fishermen, will ask the European Commission to initiate post-Brexit litigation against the United Kingdom, the government announced on Friday (December 17th).
“We have obtained 93% of post-Brexit fishing licenses, but there are still a few dozen licenses to be obtained, which are as many boats, as many families that we must absolutely defend”, declared the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, after a meeting at the Elysee Palace with a delegation of fishermen, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron.
“In the coming days, we will ask the European Commission to initiate a dispute, a legal procedure for the licenses to which we are entitled, which are the most priority, the most important”, continued Mr. Beaune. Paris will also ask the Commission ” to bring together the partnership council, which is provided for by the Brexit agreement when there is a problem – it is a political body, we have never brought it together for the moment –, to tell the British that this is a European problem, that they are not 100% respecting the agreement and therefore that we must have this continuing political pressure. “
Support plan for fishermen
The Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, clarified that there remained “73 licenses still pending”, promising that France would continue to discuss with London and the authorities of the Channel Islands “To try to tear off” authorizations, “License by license”.
Noting that some fishermen will not have permission to work in British waters, the ministers reaffirmed that no one would be left by the wayside, now raising the issue of compensation.
“The president wants us to be precise in terms of supporting fishermen (who will not have had a license), and that we do something hand-sewn, case by case, basin by basin”said Mme Girardin, specifying that a “Mr. escort” would “Appointed in the coming week”.
Under the agreement signed at the end of 2020 between London and Brussels, European fishermen can continue to work in British waters provided they can prove that they have previously fished there. But for more than eleven months, the French and the British have been arguing over the nature and extent of the supporting documents to be provided.
Outside the Mediterranean, around a quarter of French catches in volume (around 20% in value) come from British waters, which are rich in fish and which are the source of 650 million euros in annual sales for EU fishermen.
