With the new escalation of tensions, London has rejected a deadline set by Brussels

United Kingdom The European Commission on Thursday rejected a deadline set Friday for resolving a dispute over Vin’s licenses.
Peach Mail-
Brexit With France, it accuses London of bad faith and promises to go to trial.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday evening that “we have never set a deadline.” “They set up one, but that’s not what we work on.”

Possible obstacles

Opinion of French President Emmanuel MacronAfter a few minutes, all disagreements with London (fishing, immigration, security): “I want to have a government that wants to work with us in good faith,” he told a news conference. . Earlier in the day, the French maritime minister had warned that France would go to “arbitration” at the European level and “go to court” if all the fishing licenses demanded were not granted by Friday evening.

Eleven months after the post-Brexit trade agreement and as the marathon negotiations continue, France has agreed to oppose the European Commission’s “softness” and set a deadline of December 10 in London. The patience of the French fishermen has reached the limit, Said French Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin during a hearing in the Senate on Thursday. She promised to listen,
Licensed by Friday evening, Meeting of the Partnership Council to guarantee the use of the post-Brexit agreement. “Obstacles can be decided there,” he said: “If lawsuits and retaliatory measures are implemented, the commission will take action.”

“Delay Maneuvers”

France has 1,004 post-Brexit fishing licenses and is “waiting for 104 more”, according to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs. Under an agreement signed between London and Brussels at the end of 2020, European fishermen will continue to work conditionally in British waters. They can prove they have fished there before. But the French and the English argue over the nature and quantity of the supporting documents to be provided. While welcoming once again the constructive work being done with the Anglo-Norman island of Guernsey, which issued about 40 licenses in early December, the Minister condemned the United Kingdom’s “delay tactics” eleven months after the signing of the agreement. Agreement.

A large number of French licenses are no longer within 6-12 British miles. According to Annik Girardin, discussions with the jersey are tense, which “maintains tension”. Paris is still awaiting 51 definitive licenses from the Saint-Helier government, with no access to Jersey waters, and their operations largely dependent on it, including those previously requested by ten fishermen classified on the “red list”.

France and the European Union “in totality”

For the past eleven months the Minister has returned without leaving the European Commission for a long time: “the President had to be angry”, Brussels, France, before the deadline set by the Commission, he recalled. “Completely in the same order”. On this fishing issue, the tone has already risen, in many cases the extent of the conflict: the siege of Jersey by French fishermen last May, which resulted in the dispatch of two British patrol boats; Inflation from French threats of sanctions in October; More recently, French fishermen blocked the Channel Tunnel of ports and cargo terminals, through which 25% of trade goes between the UK and Europe.

Beyond the licensing issue, it guarantees that fishing methods and allocations will be much more difficult. The French fishermen, who are preparing for the new measures, will pay special attention to the forthcoming meeting of European Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries in Brussels on Sunday and Monday to discuss the 2022 fisheries quota.