The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
France prepared to get tough if UK fishing talks fail
France is threatening to push for EU legal action against the UK if it does not show a “sign of goodwill” in the post-Brexit fishing row.
However, France’s European affairs minister, Clement Beaune, suggested the talks could be extended past the deadline as long as the UK shows goodwill.
He said: “If the British say today ‘we’ll give you a few dozen extra licences as a gesture of good faith’, we’ll take that into account and make an evaluation with the European Commission, and perhaps we’ll continue.”
But if Britain refuses to budge on the outstanding licences, France will ask the commission to announce the launch of legal proceedings.
The European
Commission had said the dispute must be settled by yesterday, but on Thursday, Downing Street said it did not recognise the cut-off point.
Asked about the state of the negotiations, European Commission spokeswoman Vivian Loonela said the commission does not use the term “ultimatum” but that negotiators will “try to finish these discussions”.
The row centres on licences to fish in UK and Channel Islands waters under the terms of Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal with the EU – the Trade and Co-operation Agreement.
France says the UK has not handed out enough licences to its fishermen, while the UK Government has insisted applications have been granted to
If the British say today ‘we’ll give you a few dozen extra licences as a gesture of good faith’, we’ll take that into account
those with the correct documentation.
France’s maritime minister, Annick Girardin, said on Thursday that if the deadlock remained by last night, France would request a meeting of the partnership council to “note the UK’s failure to respect its signature”.
She said the proceedings could take “many months” but that “France will never give up its rights”.
When asked about the negotiations, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs referred to a written statement from a minister at the department, Victoria Prentis, which said trilateral talks with EU and Norway on jointly managed stocks were fruitful but failed to refer to the fishing row specifically.