Jersey licences breach deal – EU

THE EU has complained to Britain that the terms of its post-Brexit trade deal are being ignored in the deepening dispute over fishing rights off Jersey.

The European Commission said French fishing boats were facing “additional conditions” if they were to carry on operating, in breach of the terms of the agreement hammered out on Christmas Eve.

But in a call with Jersey’s chief minister John Le Fondre, Boris Johnson again voiced his “unequivocal support” for the actions taken by the island’s government.

Two Royal Navy vessels sent to

Jersey in response to a protest by French fishermen are to return to port, it was announced last night.

About 60 French boats took part in the protest around the Channel Island’s main port, St Helier, in a dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights, before subsequently returning to port on Thursday.

Mr Johnson said he was “pleased the situation in Jersey has been resolved” and thanked the Royal Navy for the swift response.

The row erupted after the Jersey government said French boats would be required to obtain licences to carry on fishing in the island’s waters under the terms of the trade deal with the EU.

The move provoked a wave of anger among French fishing communities who complained that some boats which had operated there for years were suddenly having their access restricted.

In Brussels, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said “additional conditions” attached to the new licences represented a breach of the trade deal.

Dimitri Rogoff, who heads a group of Normandy fishermen, said: “This isn’t an act of war. It’s an act of protest.”