France to ask EU to mount legal action against UK over fishing row
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As tensions between London and Paris over the fishing spat take to new heights every day, France intends to ask the EU to take legal action against the UK over fishing licenses.
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French fishing boats block the entrance to the port of Calais, northern France, on November 26, 2021 (AP)
France will request the European Commission to launch a legal procedure against the United Kingdom in order for Paris to obtain more fishing licenses, French State Secretary Clement Beaune said Friday.
Earlier today, French President Emmanuel Macron met with a delegation of fishermen at the Elysee Palace, the French presidential palace.
"The next step will be us requesting the European Commission in the coming days to convene the so-called [EU-UK] Partnership Council, which is introduced by the Brexit agreement in case an issue arises. We also request the European Commission to initiate litigation, a legal procedure for [obtaining] licenses to which we are eligible, [and] which are the most prioritized, most important," Beaune told journalists.
Paris and London have been in an ongoing dispute over fishing licenses, with the former accusing the UK of ignoring the Brexit deal's provisions on the issue.
The Brexit trade deal stipulates that EU fishing boats may still fish in British waters if they obtain a license, on the condition that they prove they had previously been fishing in said area.
French Sea Minister Annick Girardin warned last week the United Kingdom that if the 53 licenses pending UK approval were not approved by December 10, Paris would call on the EU to go "to litigation".
Tensions took to a new height last month when Paris announced a new set of sanctions against London after the French forces detained a British vessel in their waters in late October.
London and Paris engaged in talks, postponing the sanctions; however, they are yet to reach a breakthrough as the UK repeatedly denies French claims about the insufficient number of licenses issued by the UK for French boats.
