A British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, he gave France 48 hours to withdraw its threats over the distribution of fishing licenses. If Paris does not do this, London will take formal action on the Brexit deal. At the end of the day, the Jersey government announced that it had granted 49 licenses to French courts.
“France has acted unfairly. No [a agir] compliance with the terms of the trade agreement [com a União Europeia]… And if someone is acting unfairly in a trade agreement, then they have the right to act against them and seek compensation, and this is what we will do if France does not back down, ”Truss told Sky News on the sidelines of the UN. climate summit in Glasgow.
“This issue must be resolved within 48 hours,” the warning says.
On the same day, the government of Jersey, an island located off the coast of Normandy and dependent on the British crown, 49 temporary licenses announced for French ships, valid until the end of January. This expiration date is intended to give time to the application process for permanent licenses under the United Kingdom-European Union Trade and Cooperation Agreement, he says.
“Jersey remains open to receive additional information from boats that are currently unlicensed and new applications may be submitted at any time,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the European Commission said that officials from France, Britain, Jersey and Guernsey (also Crown dependent) and the EU are meeting in Brussels. The meeting, convened by the Commission, aims to find a “quick solution” to an “unresolved problem”.
At the center of the dispute between the UK and France is fishing rights under an agreement between London and the EU. O post-Brexit partnership agreement envisages a period until 2026 during which the reduction of fishing quotas on both sides will be gradual, but London must guarantee the issuance of licenses to European fishing vessels in order to have access to its territorial waters. After this period, quotas will be agreed annually.
London says it has issued 1,700 licenses to European vessels, but Paris indicates that more than 30 of its boats have not been licensed, which the UK authorities justify by not showing that boats used to fish in British waters. – and in response last week hijacked a British trawler and fined a second vessel, threatening to block British ships’ access to French ports and tighten customs and sanitary checks from Tuesday.
À BBC Radio 4, Farm dhe argued that the licenses were granted to the French boats in “full compliance” with the agreement.
After several days of climbing tensions, on Sunday French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met on the sidelines of the G20 summit. But they didn’t reach a consensus and reports of the subsequent meeting contradicted each other: Paris claimed that the two countries had reached an agreement on the dispute, but London denied this. And both sides called on the other side to take the first step in easing tensions.
When asked about the alleged deal, Truss told Sky News that it “did not materialize” and accused the French of “unfounded threats.” If Paris does not abandon the threats, the British government will “take advantage of mechanisms [de resolução de disputas] trade agreement with the EU “that “could have a direct effect on trade.”
He also suggested that Paris’s attitude is related to the coming French elections next year.
