France Threatens to Reconsider Bilateral Relations with UK
French Prime Minister Jean Castex asks the European Commission to take more steps and hold a firmer stance towards the UK.
On Tuesday, France mounted pressure on Britain over fishing rights, calling on the European Commission to get tougher on the United Kingdom. France also warned that bilateral cooperation could be at risk.
The French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that he had asked the EU Commission to adopt a more robust stance toward London to ensure that the UK complies with its commitments under the terms of the Brexit deal.
The French Prime Minister warned that "if that does not work, we will go to the (Brexit deal) arbitration panel to get the British to keep their word and, more broadly, we will question all the conditions of the implementation of accords with the EU and also, if necessary, the bilateral cooperation we have with the UK."
The situation was described as "intolerable".
Jersey Island dispute
Britain had previously sent two warships to the island of Jersey, last May, in a measure it described as precautionary, due to the escalation of tensions with France over fishing rights.
The British island of Jersey announced a few days ago that 64 final licenses had been granted to French fishing boats in its waters, and 75 other requests were conclusively rejected. London had granted 12 additional permits in its waters, within naval limits ranging between 6 and 12 nautical miles from its coasts.
Relations between France and Britain soured in midmonth after the US, Britain, and Australia signed a new AUKUS security treaty, which aims to underpin their security and defense interests. This involved Australia canceling a submarine deal it had concluded with the French Naval Group, a move that Paris dubbed a "stab in the back."