France and the United Kingdom have agreed to step up their joint work to settle the post-Brexit dispute over fisheries, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune said on Thursday (November 4th) at the from an interview in Paris with the British Minister responsible for Brexit, David Frost.

This despite the "significant differences" remaining between the two countries, according to Paris.

During a telephone briefing with journalists, Clément Beaune reported on a "useful and positive" discussion marking "the resumption of a dialogue at a political level between France and the United Kingdom", which "s 'still part of the European framework ".

The two men agreed to "accelerate, intensify the work which had resumed at the beginning of the week and give new political impetus to discussions on fishing licenses", the subject of a dispute between Paris and London in the wake of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

"Following the pressure measures and much firmer political signals that we have sent, after a moment of great patience, in recent days, this has facilitated this resumption of dialogue", commented Clément Beaune, who qualifies as "signal positive "the coming to Paris of David Frost, with whom he spoke for an hour and a half, he said.

"Differences remain important," he added, however, citing differences with the British on questions of methodology for the allocation of licenses.

New discussions "early next week"

"If the dialogue does not work, we will move on to another phase," he warned, two days after France suspended the implementation of retaliatory measures against the British.

"We will look at the evidence and there will be no naivety at the French level," Clément Beaune insisted.

In total, according to him, the number of final licenses missing compared to the French requests expressed and documented is around 200.

"The two sides have exposed their positions and their concerns," said a spokesman for the British government, who announced new discussions "early next week" with France.

Until then, David Frost is due to meet with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on Friday.

Technical discussions will also take place over the weekend or at the start of the week.

No real progress, according to London

From a British source familiar with the matter, it is estimated that the interview organized at the Quai d'Orsay, which ended with a handshake in front of the cameras, did not allow any real progress.

The months-long fisheries dispute escalated in late October, leading the governments of both countries to threaten each other with reprisals to the point of leading French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to address the issue. subject on the sidelines of the G20, Sunday in Rome.

Monday evening November 1, France suspended the application of retaliatory measures, scheduled for the next day, which consisted in particular in prohibiting access to French ports to British fishermen to unload their cargo and to strengthen border and health controls. on goods from Great Britain.

France criticizes the United Kingdom for granting too few licenses to its fishermen to access an area of ​​6,000 to 12,000 nautical miles off the British coasts, as well as those of Jersey and Guernsey.

With the consequence of a battle of numbers on both sides of the Channel.

Paris says it has only obtained a little more than 50% of the permits that French fishermen could claim, while London claims to have issued 98% of the authorizations requested.

Last week, France boarded a British fishing vessel, the "Cornelis Gert Jan", which it said was operating illegally in French waters off Le Havre.

The ship was able to go to sea on Wednesday after being authorized by the courts to leave the Norman port.

With Reuters and AFP

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