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French fishermen protest in Saint-Malo at the end of November
Photo: Jeremias Gonzalez / dpa
There has been a breakthrough in the dispute between France and Great Britain over fishing rights in the English Channel. This was announced by the EU Commission. Previously, shortly after a deadline, the British government had issued 18 further licenses to EU vessels for fishing in British waters and 5 off the Channel Island of Jersey, according to the European Commission. A statement from France said that they had taken note of the granting of additional licenses. In the meantime, 93 percent of the required authorizations have been granted.
The EU Commission's aim was to complete the licensing process by midnight on December 10th.
A formal agreement on the expiry of this period has not been announced.
The EU Commission spoke on Saturday of an important step in a long process to implement the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) concluded between Brussels and the Kingdom after it left the EU.
By Saturday, a total of 83 additional fishing permits had been added in the intensified discussions.
France and the EU Commission now wanted to work together on the missing licenses.
Paris announced that it wanted to examine all legal means for the pending permits.
French fishermen have had to apply for licenses since Brexit
Since Britain left the EU, French fishermen have had to apply for licenses. Because various applications have been rejected, France accuses Great Britain of not adhering to the Brexit agreements. London rejects this. The Channel Islands are much closer to the French coast than to the English coast.
In the event that there was no agreement, Paris had threatened to ask the EU to initiate legal proceedings against the UK. European State Secretary Clément Beaune admitted on Friday, however, that if Britain were to issue some additional licenses as a token of goodwill, this would be noted and the dialogue possibly continued. In a joint statement with Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, there was talk of a continuation of the work, but further talks with Great Britain were not explicitly mentioned.
The tug-of-war over fishing rights has been causing disputes between France and Great Britain for months and resentment among French fishermen who fear for their livelihoods.
At the end of November, they temporarily blocked access to three French ports in protest.
col / dpa