The Jersey authorities on Wednesday accused France of reacting "
disproportionately
" after an implicit threat from Paris to cut the current on the Channel Island because of the fishing conditions imposed on French sailors after Brexit.
Read also: Post-Brexit fishing conditions: the French Minister of the Sea threatens Jersey with retaliation
"
This is not the first threat the French have made to Jersey or the UK since we got into this new deal,
" Foreign Secretary Ian Gorst said on the BBC in reference to the post-Brexit agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union. "
It would appear disproportionate to cut off the power just because we have to provide additional details so that we can refine the
fishing
licenses
" before they are granted, he added.
French Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, said on Tuesday that France was ready to resort to "
retaliatory measures
" if the British authorities continued to restrict the access of French fishermen to these waters.
Speaking to the National Assembly, she alluded to possible repercussions on the "
transmission of electricity by submarine cable
" which supplies the island from France.
List of 41 French ships
According to his ministry, the United Kingdom on Friday published a list of 41 French vessels authorized to fish in Jersey waters, but this list comes with new requirements "
which have not been concerted, discussed or notified before
" in part of the agreement. The Ministry of the Sea informed Brussels of these new unforeseen measures, and now expects the Commission, the only one empowered to negotiate with the United Kingdom, to obtain "
clarifications
".
“
I think a solution can be found. I am optimistic that we can allow more time for these items to be provided
”for licensing, said Ian Gorst. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Jersey government assured it had "
granted fishing licenses in accordance with the trade agreement
" concluded between Brussels and London at the end of December.
Asked on the Sky News channel, the British Secretary of State in charge of the anti-Covid vaccination program, Nadhim Zahawi, stressed that it was necessary to "
work constructively
" to "
iron out the differences
". "
This is an issue on which the Commission must work with our team
", he added, stressing that according to the British, "
the Commission takes seriously some of these operational challenges which we must solve together
".
