On Tuesday, Beaune invited the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, to come to Paris on November 4 for talks on the alleged anti-French bias when issuing fishing licenses in British waters….reports Asian Lite News
French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune announced on Wednesday that the negotiations between the European Commission (EC) and the United Kingdom on fishing licenses would go into full force this week.
On Tuesday, Beaune invited the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, to come to Paris on November 4 for talks on the alleged anti-French bias when issuing fishing licenses in British waters. Frost accepted the offer and, according to French cabinet spokesperson Gabriel Attal, the two will meet on Thursday before a Friday meeting with the EC.
“New talks with European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on Brexit and fishing licenses. Unity, solidarity and firmness in protecting our agreements, our interests and our fishermen. The dialogue between the EU and the UK is intensifying this week,” Beaune wrote on Twitter.
In late September, the British Ministry of the Environment reported that 1,700 vessels from the EU received licenses to fish in British waters, of which 117 were issued to vessels from the EU for fishing in a zone of 6-12 nautical miles. The ministry issued only 12 licenses to French fishermen, having considered 47 applications.
France has accused the UK of non-compliance with the Brexit agreement provisions on fishing licenses and threatened to impose sanctions starting November 2. However, Paris decided to postpone the sanctions until negotiations with London are complete.
Meanwhile, UK has welcomed the French government’s announcement that it will not go ahead with implementing sanction measures over an ongoing fishing dispute, a government spokesperson said here.
“As we have said consistently, we are ready to continue intensive discussions on fisheries, including considering any new evidence to support the remaining license applications,” Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying in a statement.
The spokesperson said the UK’s Brexit Minister David Frost has accepted France’s European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune’s invitation for talks in Paris on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who earlier on Monday met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the UN climate conference in Glasgow, told reporters that the French plan was on hold pending the outcome of renewed talks.
France seized a British trawler and gave a warning to another boat on October 28, following threats of retaliatory measures against the UK’s fishing industry and other trade, including preventing British fishing boats from disembarking at ports, increasing border and sanitary checks on British goods.
Post-Brexit fishing row between Britain and France started earlier this year after the British Channel island of Jersey’s government introduced a new licensing system requiring French boats to show fishing history in Jersey’s waters to obtain future permits.
It prompted both sides to dispatch navy vessels to monitor the situation in Jersey’s waters in May.
