France on Monday asked the European Commission to be more
"active"
in settling the post-Brexit dispute between Paris and London on fishing.
Read also Brexit: French fishermen announce imminent action against the United Kingdom
"We say to the European Commission, I repeated this afternoon to Maros Sefkovic (Vice-President of the Commission): 'We would be very happy to be able to treat this issue as an issue of the EU in its own right. »
, Launched the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, in an interview on the Politico website.
"It is a problem of the EU, it should be treated as a problem of the EU and France asks that it be"
, he hammered, deploring that the dispute has
"not" was taken seriously enough at the outset within the Commission ”
.
France is demanding more fishing licenses in London and the Channel Island of Jersey as part of the post-Brexit deal.
She announced sanctions as of November 1 before suspending them pending the outcome of further discussions.
Clément Beaune spoke once again with the British Secretary of State for Brexit, David Frost, on Sunday evening on this subject.
“We will stick to that (honoring agreements).
We will play European and we will ask the Commission to be more active, firmer and more categorical in this discussion, ”
insisted the French official, who spoke in English.
Act collectively
Beyond fishing, which more specifically affects France for
“geographic”
reasons
, the post-Brexit agreement implies compliance with a series of commitments likely to have an impact for the entire EU, a- he explained.
"If Europe is not able collectively to demand respect for it and to obtain it, we will have a long-term problem on the implementation of the agreement and on the confidence we can have in the Kingdom. -un, ”
he insisted.
Read also Post-Brexit fishing: "The government lets our profession die out"
The French government is increasing its offensive declarations and hammering out its determination vis-à-vis London while fishermen fear a setback and the subject has become an electoral issue as the April 2022 presidential election approaches.
