Macron to be told: Stop threatening us ‘once and for all’

LORD Frost will demand France drops its threats over fishing ‘once and for all’ as he holds showdown talks in Paris today.

The Brexit minister will meet Emmanuel Macron’s European minister Clement Beaune in an attempt to defuse the post-Brexit row.

But officials last night feared the talks could exacerbate the row as Lord Frost makes clear the Government will not back down on the issue of licences for French fishing boats.

Paris yesterday suggested it could bring back its threat to wreak havoc on cross-Channel trade.

Mr Macron on Monday called off plans to block British trawlers from offloading catches in French ports and to introduce new checks on lorries arriving in the country. But French government spokesman Gabriel Attal warned Paris could press ahead with the sanctions unless Lord Frost offers concessions.

‘All options are on the table’, he said. ‘We may need to implement those measures if we do not reach an agreement.’

Under the Brexit trade deal, French vessels are able to fish in the area between six and 12 miles from the UK’s shores until 2026 if they can prove they had previously been operating in those waters.

But some boats have had their applications for permits refused because they have not provided sufficient documentation.

Downing Street yesterday insisted it was not looking at weakening the evidence requirements for granting licences as part of attempts to negotiate a solution in the dispute.

Asked if the threshold would be lowered, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘No, we remain confident that we are enforcing the rules as set out. We have taken a number of steps to assist the French fishing fleet in providing the necessary evidence.’

A Government source indicated that at the meeting in Paris today, Lord Frost would urge the French government to remove its threats ‘once and for all’.

‘We are confident in our position,’ they added. ‘There is not going to be a shift in our position.’

Fisheries minister Victoria Prentis published figures showing that 98 per cent of licence applications to fish in British waters have been granted. Of the 1,831 submitted, 1,793 licences have been issued with 38 pending further information.

However, only around half of the 217 applications to fish in the waters around Jersey have resulted in permanent licences being granted by its government.

French and EU officials moved to strike an optimistic tone that a truce could be brokered. French transport minister Jean Baptiste Djebbari praised the ‘constructive spirit’ of the talks, while a European Commission spokesman said the negotiations had been ‘positive’.