Despite fruitful talks at the COP26 regarding climate change, the situation remains tense between France and the UK, with both countries failing to come to an agreement regarding fishing licenses in the English Channel for post-Brexit United Kingdom.
With thousands of jobs on the line, time is running out for the two countries to find common ground and resume normal activity at sea.
A Brexit issue
This conflict stems directly from Brexit. The UK recovered sovereignty over their exclusive maritime zones and therefore the question of foreign fishermen working in what once were EU waters emerged. These areas are 300km wide starting from the coast and have become a very important topic of discussion since the UK officially left the European Union on January 1st 2021.
This is an area where French fishermen caught 30% of their total catches, hundreds of thousands of tons of fish are caught by foreign fishermen every year and losing access to these zones would most likely put them out of a job, due to a lack of areas where they could go fishing. This makes the current stalemate all the more frustrating to them, as their future is in the balance and the workers can't do anything while talks are taking place.
The French ultimatum
As per the Brexit agreement, foreign fishermen can continue working in
the UK maritime zones as long as they can prove that they were already
doing so before Brexit was voted, which would grant them a fishing
license.However, the French refuse to agree to those conditions, as many ships didn't have the technology at the time to provide sufficient evidence to grant them a license, whilst the UK insists on actual GPS proof that the fishermen worked in the area between 2012 and 2016 in order to apply for a license. This has left both countries deadlocked in negociations with the clock ticking, as French fishermen wait for their license to be delivered so they can get to work.
In that tense atmosphere, France threatened to apply sanctions in November if an agreement wasn't found quickly, effectively becoming a nuisance to UK workers making the trip to France, such as delivery workers by making the sanitary checks in the Boulogne port especially long and thorough for them. However, the deadline that was set for November 1st passed and no action was taken, discussions resumed quickly afterwards with both parties trying to find the best deal possible. France wants to secure as many licences as possible and make them easier to obtain while the UK is trying to make sure that foreign fishermen don't overstay their welcome in zones that are now exclusive to the UK by law.
A slow resolution and harsh implications
In early December, the UK finally granted 43 licenses for French fishermen, allowing access to 43 ships to UK waters. This was met with joy but it remains clear to the French government that it is nowhere near enough. The workers find themselves in the middle of that dispute, incapable of resuming their activity nor knowing what the future holds for them. More than a hundred licenses are still waiting to be granted to French ships, which means that hundreds of fishermen are still stuck on land.
Talks are slow, which is something fairly common when state sovereignty is involved. This happens with little regard to people and the actual implications of the talks, how they are perceived and how they change people's lives. France believes that the UK decided to unfairly deny access to their waters to numerous French boats, that the Boris Johnson-led government is trying their best to discourage foreign fishermen from venturing into UK maritime zones. Those factors along with the other crises in the world make it so that the relationship between the UK and EU countries have rarely been as cold as they are now.
No quick resolution is expected anytime soon, and Emmanuel Macron could well decide to threaten the UK again with sanctions if negociations keep dragging on which keeps French fishermen in limbo. However, the slow release of licenses could guarantee a safer future for many fishermen looking for nothing but the resumption of their normal life.
Loïc Garcia
References :
https://www.lesechos.fr/monde/europe/peche-5-questions-sur-le-conflit-entre-paris-et-londres-1360701
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/guernsey-fishing-boat-licenses-eu-b1967889.html
Hello Loïc!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this fantastic article! Brexit has undoubtedly disrupted UK relations with the EU at every level. My question is, appart from France, is there any other European country with whom the UK has disputes over fishing on their exclusive maritime zone?
Best regards,
Belén :)
Hello Loïc !
ReplyDeleteThank you for your article, it was really interesting to learn more about this issue. All the consequences of Brexit are still unknown, as some will only appear in the long term. However, while doing your research, did you find another problem that have emerged after Brexit ?