Fishing row: France delays sanctions as talks over access continue

France will delay retaliatory measures against the UK while talks over post-Brexit fishing rights continue, Emmanuel Macron has said. France had threatened to stop British boats offloading catches at its ports from midnight over the row.

But the French president told reporters the sanctions would be put off as talks between officials continued. Environment Secretary George Eustice said there had been a “big de-escalation” of the row. There had been “constructive talks” with France on Monday, he added.

“We very much welcome the fact that France has decided not to go ahead with its threats and we’ll continue to have those constructive discussions.”

Brexit minister Lord Frost will meet France’s European affairs minister Clément Beaune on Thursday to discuss a range of Brexit issues. The French government said its measures would now not come into effect before this meeting took place.

In a statement, the president’s office added that it expected the UK to respond to France’s latest proposals on licensing by Wednesday. The row flared up last month, after the UK and Jersey denied permits to dozens of French boats to operate in waters near their coastline.

France had threatened to take a series of measures against the UK unless more licences were granted by midnight on Monday into Tuesday. Representatives from the EU Commission, France, the UK and the Channel Islands began talks on Monday, seeking to defuse the row.

French media quoted Mr Macron telling reporters at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow these would now continue on Tuesday. “It’s not while we’re negotiating that we’re going to impose sanctions,” he was quoted as saying. “We’ll see where we are tomorrow [Tuesday] at the end of the day, to see if things have really changed,” he added.

Under the Brexit trade deal, the EU and UK agreed they would give licences to boats if they can show they have fished in each other’s waters for years. But there have been disagreements about how much evidence is needed, leading to anger from France when applications were denied by the UK and Jersey.

Big trawlers will routinely collect this sort of information using things like data from Automatic Identification Systems. Smaller vessels that come from French harbours to fish around the Channel Islands, for example, would find it harder to provide this kind of proof.

The retaliatory measures threatened by France include preventing British fishing boats from offloading catches at its ports, and stepping up border checks on UK goods.

Officials in Paris have also threatened to tighten security checks on British boats, and increase checks on trucks going to and from the UK.

Last week, a British trawler was seized by France while fishing in French waters.

Mr Eustice told the BBC there had been some “administrative confusion” but that he did not think the vessel was still being held by the French.

But Macduff Shellfish, the owners of the seized Cornelis Gert Jan have told the BBC they are “not aware” that their trawler has been released by French authorities.

Andrew Brown, the company’s director of sustainability and public affairs, said: “Right now we are tied up seeking to secure the release of the vessel. We are not aware that the vessel has been released. Our understanding is that the vessel remains held at Le Havre at least until the hearing takes place tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Sources at the environment department have told the BBC that contrary to Mr Eustice’s previous assertion, the British fishing boat is still impounded by the French authorities in Le Havre.

They add that the boat’s impoundment is seen as a “routine enforcement action” by the French and is not connected to the wider fishing row, so is unlikely to be raised as part of negotiations on licences.

Source: bbc.com