China News Service, October 29, reported that the UK has been in dispute with France over fishing rights after Brexit, and the tension between the two countries has recently increased.
After threatening to impose sanctions on the United Kingdom, the French government seized a British trawler on the 28th. On the same day, the United Kingdom announced that it had summoned the French ambassador in response to the French authorities’ threats of retaliation.
[France threatens sanctions and seizes British fishing boats]
According to the Brexit agreement reached between the United Kingdom and the European Union, the two sides need to issue a certain number of license plates to each other’s fishing boats so that the fishing boats can fish in their respective economic waters.
France criticized that the United Kingdom has been delaying the licensing of all eligible French fishing vessels since Brexit, while the United Kingdom claimed that it had granted licenses to French fishing vessels that had been operating in British waters before Brexit, denying the delay.
The two sides have been arguing about this. The UK and the EU had originally aimed to reach an agreement on fishing rights before November 2, but there has been no significant progress in the negotiations so far.
French government officials previously announced that if the negotiations fail to make progress, France will begin to take retaliatory measures on November 2, including tightening customs and sanitation inspections on British goods imported from France to Europe, and prohibiting British fishing vessels from unloading seafood at French ports. , And even cut off the power supply to the Channel Islands, the territory of the British royal family.
Once France imposes sanctions, Dover, the mainstay of the UK's European Union, is likely to be heavily congested, which will also damage the British fisheries, because most of the British fish catches are exported to all parts of the European Union through French ports.
Recently, the French Maritime Gendarmerie has also stepped up patrols in relevant waters.
French Maritime Minister Gilardin stated on the social networking site “Twitter” on the 28th that a French patrol boat found an unlicensed British trawler in the territorial waters and detained it in Le Havre after boarding and searching. It will be released after it has paid the deposit.
Another British fishing boat was verbally warned by France.
The French Ministry of Maritime Affairs stated that the case has been handed over to the judicial department. The captain of the fishing vessel may face criminal prosecution and the fish on board may be confiscated.
French government spokesman Atta said that the patience of the French side has reached its limit, and it is hoped that the British side can respect the agreement reached between the two sides.
French Minister of Maritime Affairs Girardin said that France was forced to take action, emphasizing that "this is not a war, but this is a struggle."
[The British side will summon the French ambassador]
British officials expressed disappointment at France’s detention of fishing vessels, and emphasized that the name of the fishing vessel detained was originally included in the list of operating fishing vessels submitted by the United Kingdom to the European Union, but was subsequently removed somehow.
Regarding France's threat to strengthen customs inspections, British officials criticized that once the relevant practices are implemented, they will violate the British-European trade agreement and international law, and the United Kingdom will respond appropriately.
The spokesperson of the British government announced in a statement that British Foreign Secretary Truss believed that the action that France wanted to take was "unreasonable." She ordered the Secretary of State for European Affairs Wendy Morton to "call in" Ambassador of France".
The British government’s statement added, “We reiterate that the (UK) government has approved 98% of EU vessels’ permit applications for fishing in British waters. , We will review all the evidence they provide.” The 98% of the figure mentioned by the British government is controversial in France, and France says it is 90%.
The chairman of the British National Federation of Fishermen's Organizations, Diaz, said that Britain is issuing fishing licenses in accordance with the Brexit trade agreement and criticized France for deliberately escalating the dispute, paving the way for French President Macron's bid for re-election in the April 2022 presidential election.
In addition to fishing rights disputes, Britain and France have recently cancelled the purchase of submarines from France due to immigration issues and Australia's approach to Britain and the United States, bringing the relationship between the two countries to a ten-year low.