Anglo-French fishery dispute exposes the sequelae of "Brexit"
Both sides agree to continue negotiations to suspend resort to retaliation
□ Our reporter's trainee reporter Wang Wei Our reporter's reporter Wu Qiong
The fisheries dispute between the UK and France has recently continued to ferment. After the two sides threatened each other to take countermeasures, the leaders of the two countries agreed to continue consultations on November 1st to suspend retaliation.
However, due to the intertwining of fishermen's interests and political factors, disputes in the field of fisheries may be difficult to resolve for a while.
In the next period of time, other "Brexit" sequelae caused by structural problems between Britain and Europe may gradually appear.
Suspend sanctions against Britain
French President Emmanuel Macron met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, UK on the 1st.
He said after the meeting that the two countries will start new negotiations on the issue of fishing rights, during which the French side will suspend the sanctions against Britain that were originally scheduled to take effect on the 2nd.
According to reports, in order to ease the atmosphere of the talks between the two sides, a French court ruled on the 3rd that a British fishing boat detained by French judicial authorities can set sail back to China.
The owner of the fishing boat expressed his gratification that the fishing boat could leave, and at the same time he was pleased that the court did not set a bond for the release of the fishing boat.
He also said that the crew of the fishing boat is in good condition.
The fishing boat was previously detained by the French side, and the French side said it was fishing scallops in French waters without proper permits.
The French government's secretary of state in charge of European affairs, Clement Bohn, and Britain's Brexit Secretary Frost held talks on the fishery dispute in Paris for about one and a half hours on the 4th.
Born said that he was very happy to receive Frost in Paris to restart the necessary dialogue and ensure the implementation of the agreement.
A spokesman for the British government said: "As we have always said, we are ready to continue in-depth discussions on fisheries issues, including considering accepting new certificates submitted by French fishing vessels to support their fishing license applications."
However, the negotiations did not make a breakthrough on the issue of fishery disputes.
Bohn said that there are still obvious differences between the two sides on related issues. The negotiations on the day failed to resolve the fishing license issue, and there is still a lot of work to be done.
He also said that even if "all options are possible", France still hopes to give "a chance" to dialogue.
British officials said on the same day that Frost and Born discussed a series of difficulties arising from the application of the agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Both sides have clarified their respective positions and concerns, and the talks are expected to continue next week.
The dispute continues to escalate
According to the UK’s “Brexit” agreement, from January 1 this year, fishermen from EU countries will be able to obtain fishing permits to enter the waters of the UK to fish, provided that they need to submit in advance the history of fishing in this waters.
The rigorous review of these application documents by the British authorities led to the rejection of a large number of applications, which aroused the anger of France.
According to data released by the French Ministry of Maritime Affairs at the end of September, of the 175 fishing permit applications submitted by French fishermen to the British government, 75 applications have not yet been approved; of the 211 applications submitted to the British Jersey, 105 applications have not yet been approved. Approved; British Guernsey only issued 64 temporary fishing permits to French fishing vessels.
The French government announced on October 27 that because the United Kingdom did not issue a sufficient number of fishing licenses to French fishermen, France threatened to ban British fishing vessels from unloading in some French ports from November 2nd. British trucks have stepped up inspections.
In addition, French Minister of Maritime Affairs Anneque Girardin issued a statement saying that France is preparing a second round of sanctions and does not rule out reconsidering the supply of electricity to the UK.
Because Jersey is much closer to France than the British island, it has long relied on France for power supply.
Johnson complained to European Commission President Ursula von der Lein on the 30th that the UK has abided by relevant commitments and has approved 98% of EU vessels’ fishing permit applications in British waters.
France’s threat of sanctions against the British side is “completely unjustified”, referring to the use of the post-Brexit trade dispute settlement mechanism to take action against France, and threatening to strengthen the review of fishing vessels entering British waters across the EU.
According to reports, during the G20 summit, Macron and Johnson had a one-on-one meeting without assistants to discuss how to resolve the issue of fishing rights between the two countries, but the two sides failed to give a clear outcome to the fishery dispute.
After the meeting, the French President’s Office issued a statement stating that the French and British leaders agreed to take "practical measures" in the coming days to resolve the fishing rights dispute.
As soon as France made this statement, the British government immediately came out to refute the rumors, saying that Britain did not believe that it had reached an agreement with France.
On November 1, British Foreign Secretary Truss stated that France must withdraw its threat to Britain within 48 hours, otherwise it will take immediate action.
"Sequelae" highlights
Fishing rights used to be one of the most difficult issues in the UK's "Brexit" negotiations.
Although the UK's "Brexit" road that lasted more than four years has come to an end with the "EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement" officially implemented on May 1, it is affected by economic and political influences, including fisheries disputes. In the future, a series of "Brexit" sequelae may gradually appear.
French media believe that the British "Brexit" agreement is only a framework agreement, and all details need to be implemented gradually.
As the first year of the "Brexit" agreement coming into effect, all parties are "contending every inch of the land", striving for more benefits in the actual implementation of the agreement.
French radio station "Europe One" quoted a French diplomat's analysis and pointed out that since this year's fishing quota has not yet been determined, "all parties are trying to mark their own territory."
According to Reuters, the dispute between Britain and France over fishing rights did not arise because of the economic importance of fisheries, but more at the political level.
The media previously reported that fisheries accounted for only about 0.1% of the UK’s GDP.
For the Johnson administration, taking back control of its own fisheries is an important part of the campaign promise. Macron faces a presidential election next year and needs to stand up for the interests of French fishermen at a critical moment.
The British Sky News channel analyzed that for many British people who support "Brexit", fishing rights have become a landmark topic.
According to the EU’s Common Fishery Policy, in the past, most of the fishing quotas in the British waters were allocated to EU countries, and many British fishermen hope to correct this “mistake” through “Brexit”.
In order to gain support from fishermen, Johnson visited the fishing town of Brixham in the summer of 2019, met with fishermen and promised to support the development of the industry.
The analysis of Agence France-Presse believes that the French-British fishery dispute has increased the tension between France and the UK and may trigger a full-scale trade war. However, there are currently signs that both France and the UK are inclined to avoid further deterioration of the situation through diplomatic channels.
Analysts pointed out that the fishery dispute is more like a fuse.
In addition to the fisheries problem, other "Brexit" sequelae caused by structural problems between Britain and Europe are also gradually emerging.
The United Kingdom and the European Union have already had frictions in areas such as the new crown vaccine and financial services, and the contradictions between the two sides over the trade issue in Northern Ireland will continue to exist.
In the future, some problems after Britain’s “Brexit” will be further amplified and may be difficult to eliminate in the short term.