At the end of his Christmas address last December, Boris Johnson held the trade agreement with the EU hot off the press in the camera and said with a grin: “This is the festival - full of fish, by the way.” Fishing rights and catch quotas were a major obstacle in the negotiations on the “EU-UK Trade” and Cooperation Agreement ".

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

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The result was recorded on 14 pages, followed by three annexes with tables for 124 types of fish.

But all attention to detail was of no avail: just a few months after the contract came into force, fishing was causing a serious conflict between Great Britain and France - and thus the EU.

It escalated for the first time in May when French fishermen protested off the Channel Island of Jersey and formed a kind of siege ring around the port.

London let two patrol boats run out, whereupon Paris also sent two armed boats.

The dispute was finally defused in negotiations - only to flare up again in October.

Displeasure in Scotland and Cornwall

This time, Paris threatened sanctions if London stopped issuing licenses: berthing bans for British cutters, more truck controls at the canal border and an increase in the price of electricity for the Channel Islands. As a result, London announced legal measures should the threats be carried out. At the beginning of the week, Paris let the ultimatum pass. Negotiations have been ongoing since then.

The UK remained part of the common fisheries policy until the beginning of the year. Like all EU countries, the country received its quotas from Brussels. This had already led to resentment in the coastal areas in previous years, especially in Scotland and Cornwall. The fishermen became the backbone of the Brexit movement, partly because the exit seemed to promise immediate economic benefits. With the implementation of Brexit, the Kingdom, as the Library of Congress defines it, "has become an independent coastal state and is fully responsible for fisheries management in the exclusive economic zone of up to 200 miles".

In principle, the United Kingdom alone can determine who has access to its waters. London would have liked the immediate transition to sovereignty, but the EU threatened market restrictions for British fish, which is why a compromise was reached: a quarter of the EU catch quotas will then be transferred to the Kingdom by mid-2026; thereafter it is negotiated annually. Mutual access has been organized via a new licensing system since January - and this is the focus of the dispute.

France accuses the authorities in Great Britain and Jersey of withholding licenses. According to the contract, those who can prove that they fished in a certain area between February 1, 2017 and January 31, 2020 are entitled. This often poses detection problems for smaller cutters because they usually do not have GPS systems. The British Federation of Fisheries Organizations recently pointed out that distinguishing between claimants struggling to prove and free riders was a normal technical exercise "best carried out through a quiet dialogue away from easily excitable politicians".

Such politicians rule in Paris and London.

According to the French government, the British are deliberately withholding licenses, so they are not fulfilling their obligations.

London denies this and says that Emmanuel Macron is escalating the conflict in order to be able to distinguish himself as a representative of national interests in the election campaign.

He also wants to demonstrate that leaving the EU creates problems.

The conflict with France also benefits Johnson.

The negative consequences of the exit have been noticeable since January, which has reduced the enthusiasm for Brexit in surveys.

The reference to alleged obstruction from France is a welcome explanation.

The conflict is centered in Jersey

In terms of the economy as a whole, fishing is of no consequence to either the UK or France. But the industry is important for coastal regions in both countries and stirs up emotions. How many boats are currently waiting for a license is difficult to determine. London assures that 98 percent of all EU applicants - 1700 - have been issued fishing permits; for the remaining two percent, evidence must be checked. Paris speaks of ten percent withheld licenses, which affect all French fishermen.

The conflict is centered in Jersey. According to information from the local government, 113 licenses were issued to French boats and last week another 49 licenses with a limited term. 55 applications were rejected. France, on the other hand, states that its fishermen have received 210 licenses for the six to twelve mile zone around Jersey and Guernsey. However, 454 had been requested. The dispute is also fed by a loophole in the commercial contract. It clarifies what an applicant has to prove in order to be eligible, but not how.

Some see a connection to the other post-Brexit conflict area: Northern Ireland.

From the British point of view, the EU and above all France interpreted the exit treaty - more precisely: the Northern Ireland Protocol - particularly meticulously in order to create problems for London.

According to this reading, London could now be tempted to apply the trade treaty excessively in order to create difficulties for France.

Both conflicts seem technical, but are political: London wants to make Brexit a success, Paris a failure.