Fishing after Brexit: France loosens ballast, talks continue

One last ultimatum? Despite the cordial smiles at the G20 and COP26, the post-Brexit wrestling party continues over the fishery between Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, who quit imposing restrictions at midnight on Monday 1 November, to be given “a chance” Can you Continue until at least Thursday. “It is not when we are negotiating that we will impose sanctions”, the French president told the press on the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow (United Kingdom). “Discussions will continue tomorrow” Tuesday. “The next few hours are critical hours,” assured Emmanuel Macron.

The Elysee Palace later specified in a press release that France would not implement the approval until at least Thursday, the date set for a meeting in Paris between the British Secretary of State in charge of Brexit, David Frost, and the French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement. Bunin invited them. “We have received the first signal from the British authorities to speed up trade. A response to the latest proposals from the French authorities is expected by Wednesday,” the French president said.

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British satisfied

The British government, for its part, “welcomed” the suspension of sanctions, saying it “welcomes France’s recognition that in-depth discussions are necessary to resolve all difficulties in relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union”. And David Frost is “delighted with discussions taking place in Paris on Thursday,” Downing Street said, thus signing off on the de-escalation of the situation. The French president said he trusted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take the French proposals “seriously” and that the discussions had led to “results”.

“Results have been very slow for 10 months, if this new method makes it possible to get results, I want to give it a chance”, he said. Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson had a long exchange of smiles in front of the cameras when Emmanuel Macron arrived at COP26 on Monday. Earlier on Monday, Paris again exposed the application of sanctions from midnight if London did not grant more licenses to French fishermen. If London does not provide more licenses to French fishermen, the French are threatening to ban British fishing vessels from unloading their cargo in French ports and tighten customs controls on all trucks.

>> Read also – Fishing after Brexit: Boris Johnson ready to take legal action “to protect British interests”

sour relationships

British Foreign Minister Liz Truss recalled that in the absence of a solution “within 48 hours”, the British government would rely on the dispute settlement mechanism under the post-Brexit trade deal to request “compensatory measures”. London warned it was also preparing to tighten controls on European fishing boats. It is the fishermen concerned, said Olivier Lepretre, chairman of the Regional Committee for Marine Fisheries and Marine Farming of Hauts-de-France (North), on Monday condemning the “unacceptable attitude of the British and their non-compliance with the signed agreements”. doing. “Retribution measures are great, it’s the only solution” but “Boris Johnson won’t stop there” and “we’ll hijack boats at the slightest problem”, he lamented.

Under the Brexit deal, European fishermen can continue to operate in certain UK waters, provided they can prove they have previously fished there. But the French and British debate the nature and extent of supporting documents to be provided. Caught in a dispute between the two countries, Ian Gorst, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Jersey’s Channel Islands, called on Sky News to “stop all this nonsense and take care of the technical problems”, allowing the issuance of fishing licenses. Got it. Even before the ultimatum expired, French authorities last week suspected a British trawler in Le Havre (north-west) of fishing more than two tons of scallops without a license. He was also in the dock on Monday.

>> ALSO READ – Fishing after Brexit: London’s “credibility” is at stake, believes Emmanuel Macron

Andrew Brown, spokesman for Mintlaw-based Macduff Shellfish in northern Scotland, said a hearing was scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday “when the terms and conditions surrounding the ship’s release are determined”, with the captain’s trial scheduled for August. Pending. The file escalates the relationship between Paris and London, which has already been damaged by torpedoes from the Franco-Australian contract for submarines in favor of the Ocas defense agreement between Great Britain, the United States and Australia. Another topic of post-Brexit tension also persists between the European Union and the United Kingdom around Northern Ireland. London calls for renegotiation of customs measures specific to the British province.

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