Fish quota row could sink Brexit trade deal, say Irish
IRELAND has warned that Brexit trade talks could collapse next week in a row over fishing rights.
Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, said negotiations on the issue are ‘not in a good place’ and have not moved since the summer.
The British Government wants to negotiate f i shing quotas annually in the same way that Norway does.
But coastal EU states, including France and Ireland, have complained that this would be unfair on their fishermen.
Discussions between EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart Lord Frost resumed in Brussels yesterday in what is being billed as a crucial week for talks.
But there remain serious gaps between the two sides on a number of issues.
UK sources last night said they believed a deal will not be reached until next week.
Appearing on Irish national broadcaster RTE yesterday, Mr Coveney said: ‘What the British Government have promised to their fishing industry, versus what Michel Barnier’s negotiating mandate from the EU is, there’s a very, very wide gap.’
He added: ‘It’s not good. That’s the truth of it. These negotiations are not in a good place when it comes to fishing.
‘There hasn’t been any success in closing the gap between the positions of either side. Until we can find a way of doing that, there isn’t going to be an agreement. We’re in the same place in fishing as we were in mid-summer.’
Mr Coveney claimed the UK was asking a lot more of the EU in return for access to its waters. He said: ‘ What is at issue here is whether the EU fishing fleet will have an agreement that can allow them access into British waters to catch a certain amount of fish.
‘This is in the context of the UK looking for access into the EU energy market, which is worth more than the fishing issue financially.
‘But also the UK wanting facilitation from the EU on aviation, on road haulage, on judicial co-operation, on defensive co-operation, on data, on services, on financial services.’
In a separate interview with the Newstalk radio station, Mr Coveney insisted that Lord Frost and Mr Barnier must find an agreement with the next ten days to avoid a No Deal Brexit. ‘If there is not a major breakthrough over the next week to ten days, then I think we really are in trouble,’ he said.
Meanwhile, a top EU diplomat warned yesterday that it is getting dangerously late to secure a postBrexit trade deal.
‘Let’s see if there will be an agreement. We can’t tell at this stage whether this will be by the end of this week, or whenever – or at all,’ the senior envoy said.
The UK has called for the European Union to show more ‘realism’ in the negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal as time runs out.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘The negotiations have resumed in Brussels. The discussions will be based on our largely common draft treaty texts.
‘But significant differences do remain and key elements in the draft texts are not yet agreed.
‘What we are working to do is seek solutions that fully respect UK sovereignty.
‘Negotiators have been in contact almost every day since October 22 and they are continuing to work intensively to bridge the gaps that remain between us.
‘But, although there has been some progress in recent days, there is much work to be done and time is now very short.
‘So if we are to make further progress in the coming days, we need to see more realism from the EU on what it means for the UK to be an independent state.’
‘I think we really are in trouble’