London will summon the French ambassador after Paris threatened retaliation over its post-Brexit fishing license, which accuses the United Kingdom of giving away too few numbers, the British government announced.
Stating that the United Kingdom considers the actions envisaged by France to be “unjust”, the head of British diplomacy Liz Truss has instructed her Secretary of State for Europe, Wendy Morton, to “call the ambassador French”, a British government spokesperson said. announced in a statement. .
“We regret the frequent confrontational language used by the French government on this issue, which does not facilitate resolution of things,” the spokesman said.
The tone rose sharply after France announced the entry into force of the first retaliatory measures on 27 October – tightening controls and banning the landing of British ships in French ports – against the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom from 2 November. Unless French fishermen obtain more licenses to fish in their waters. “We reiterate that the government has granted 98% of license applications from EU vessels to fish in UK waters and as made clear we are looking at any evidence for those who remain.” The same source was added, again citing a disputed figure by France, which speaks of 90%.
The conflict over fishing licenses between France and the United Kingdom in the wake of Brexit experienced a new episode with the oralization of two British ships off Le Havre on 27 October. The first refused to comply, while the second did not have a license to fish in French waters, resulting in it being diverted to quayside and surrendered to judicial authority, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Seas.