UK naval vessels arrive from Jersey as fishing queues with France increase
[ad_1]
Two Royal Navy vessels have begun patrolling the waters of Jersey after Boris Johnson was sent to a deeper queue around fishing rights between the UK and France.
France has threatened to disrupt the supply of energy to the Channel Island as a result of the conflict, which requires it to supply ships with control devices and meet other licensing criteria.
The disagreement arises among the more general complaints of French fishermen over the difficulty of obtaining the necessary licenses to fish in the waters off the coast of Great Britain. the topic addressed The EU-UK trade agreement was signed last year.
Downing Street said Wednesday evening that Johnson had spoken to Jersey’s chief minister and foreign minister about the threat of a blockade on the port of St Helier.
“The Prime Minister stressed the continued support given to Jersey. He said any blockade would be completely unjustified, “a spokesman said.” As a precautionary measure, the UK will send two patrol vessels on the high seas to monitor the situation. “
The craft is HMS Tamar and HMS Severn on the river.
Normandy regional fishing chief Dimitri Rogoff told the AFP news agency that about 100 French fishing boats will go to St Helier on Thursday morning to protest against the licenses, but said they will not try to block the port and return to France in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Brussels has intervened in the conflict and asked Britain to explain the conditions for access to the waters around Jersey.
According to two friends on the subject, the European Commission has written to the UK government seeking and asking for information on the special conditions attached to Jersey fishing licenses.
The letter, sent on Tuesday, says that under the terms of a “trade and cooperation agreement” between the UK and the EU last year, the UK would have to warn Brussels in advance about additional conditions attached to obtaining licenses.
Brussels says in the letter that these conditions should be science-based and non-discriminatory. It also said that the conditions would not have to be met until Britain showed that they were justified, according to information on the content of the letter.
A spokesman for the commission said Brussels had “clearly informed the UK that the provisions of the EU-UK TCA had not been respected”.
“Until the UK authorities provide further justification for the new conditions, these new conditions would not apply,” the spokesperson said. “The Commission remains in close contact with France and the United Kingdom on the issue.”
Brussels has the opportunity to open formal dispute settlement procedures with the UK under a trade agreement between the two sides if the EU decides that Britain is violating the spirit of the agreement by maintaining EU fishing rights in waters near the Channel Islands. .
Jersey, the largest member of the archipelago and dependent on the British Crown, receives 95 per cent of its electricity from France via submarine cables. Its foreign policy is governed by the United Kingdom, which treats the EU as a third country.
French Navy Minister Annick Girardin told the French National Assembly on Tuesday that he was “rebellious” that Jersey had “issued 41 fishing licenses that met conditions and specific criteria decided unilaterally and without explanation.”
“It’s unacceptable,” he told lawmakers. “We are ready to take retaliatory measures. . . As for the jersey, I will remind you to transport electricity through submarine cables. “Girardin added that he would” regret “any action, but” if we have to do it. “
French fishermen and ministers have been complaining for two weeks about the difficulties of accessing British waters, despite reaching an agreement on fishing at the end of last year.
Anger from French fishermen over delays in receiving fishing licenses in the UK has led to the barricade of trucks landing in the UK arriving in Europe.
Clément Beaune, the French Minister for European Affairs, threatened last week that UK financial companies would block regulations that would allow them to do business in the EU if Britain did not respect its respect Brexi fishing commitments.
Bertrand Sorre, a government deputy for President Emmanuel Macron’s La République en Marche party, shared the example of a fisherman from Granville in Normandy. Previously, men fished 40 days a year for fishermen and suckers outside of Jersey, but were told they could only fish for 11 days this year, and only scallops.
Ian Gorst, Jersey’s foreign minister, said the island had been licensed under the UK’s trade and cooperation agreement with the EU and that the new regime would “need all the time to adapt”.
“If they have more evidence that French fishermen or authorities want to present, we will update the licenses to reflect that evidence,” he added.
The UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We are clear that Jersey is responsible for its territorial waters.”
UK business minister Nadhim Zahawi has called on both sides to “list” the problems associated with fishing. “We need to look at it urgently and the best way to fix that is to work together,” he told Sky News.
A spokesman for the UK government said: “Making threats like Jersey is unacceptable and disproportionate.”
“After the end of the transition period, we are working closely with the EU and Jersey on the provisions on access to fisheries. [that] the French will use the mechanisms of our new treaty to solve the problems. “
The conflict has also come at a time when there are UK and EU negotiators Discussions about the 2021 catch quota for shared fishing stocks.
[ad_2]
Source link