EU’s fishing demands could crash exit talks

EU member states are hardening their demands for “status quo” access to UK fishing grounds after Brexit, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Fears are growing that fundamental differences on the shape of the future EU-UK relationship could now crash the talks within months.

A new draft of the EU’s negotiation mandate presented to European ambassadors over the weekend shows major fishing states looking to further tie the hands of Michel Barnier, Brussels’ chief negotiator, to retain their existing fishing quotas.

The new text says that Mr Barnier must “uphold” existing reciprocal access to fishing grounds, following complaints from France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands that the previous pledge merely to “build upon” existing access was far too weak.

EU sources said that the demands on fishing could stiffen even further, as fishing states fear that Mr Barnier will make a compromise with Britain that will mean their boats are able to catch

significantly less fish. EU sources say they have been concerned by Mr Barnier’s very careful use of language, talking only of a deal that produces “stable” quota shares, rather than maintaining “existing” shares.

Boris Johnson, who is equally under pressure from the UK fishing industry, has also chosen his words carefully, insisted British fishing grounds are “first and foremost” for UK boats but skirting around any guarantees.

However the looming fight over fish could be overshadowed by a more fundamental disagreement.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that a meeting of UK and EU officials in London on Friday exposed a yawning divide. The EU is insisting that the entire future relationship agreement – including trade, security and other agreements like fishing rights – should be “embedded in an overall governance framework” that covers “all areas” of cooperation. EU sources say this is to create a “cross-cutting” dispute resolution mechanism that will enable the EU to hit Britain where it hurts if an independent arbitration panel finds that the UK is in breach of the agreement.

“This is about fairness,” said a source familiar with EU thinking, “we need a mechanism where if the UK transgresses in an area where it is strong, and believes it can absorb the impact of a sanction, then the EU can take proportionate, reciprocal action in a sector that is equally important to the UK – or vice versa.”

However the British side is understood to have been adamant that it wants only a set of separate, basic agreements, with each one having its own separate governance mechanism and no crosscutting punishments.

This has left officials on both sides fearing that talks could break down as early as this April, The Telegraph understands.