Fishing, illegal immigration through the Channel, Brexit in Northern Ireland… The rag is burning between France and its British neighbor, at the dawn of a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson this weekend, on the sidelines of the G20.
The French president said the UK’s “credibility” was at stake in the post-Brexit disputes over fishing licenses and the Northern Irish protocol, in an interview with Financial Times published Friday evening. “Make no mistake, this does not only concern the Europeans but all their partners. Because when you spend years negotiating a treaty and a few months later you do the opposite of what was decided on the aspects that suit you the least, it is not a great proof of your credibility ”, he told the newspaper.
The “goodwill” of the British
The French president assured that there had been neither “provocation” nor “tension” on the issue of fishing rights, but “we must respect each other” and “respect the word that has been given”. France criticizes the United Kingdom for granting too few post-Brexit fishing licenses to its fishermen. She promised to ban British fishing vessels from unloading their cargo in French ports on Tuesday and to strengthen customs controls on trucks, if the situation does not improve by then.
While considering that it was a “test for the credibility” of the British Prime Minister and his government, the French president said he was sure of the “good will” of the United Kingdom.
Threats of retaliation
London has in turn brandished threats of retaliation in the Franco-British conflict over post-Brexit fishing licenses, Boris Johnson promising Friday to “defend the interests” of the United Kingdom. A British government spokesperson said London will implement “stringent controls” on European ships spawning in its waters, if Paris actually follows through on its threats. The latter also plans to “launch a dispute settlement procedure” provided for by the post-Brexit trade agreement, which entered into force at the beginning of the year.
“We will do what is necessary to defend British interests,” Boris Johnson told reporters on the plane to Rome. “France is one of our best, our oldest, our closest allies, friends, partners” and “the ties which unite us, which bind us, are much stronger than the current turbulence in our relationship” .
In London, the Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom, Catherine Colonna, was summoned on Friday, an extremely rare step between allied countries. She left without a word after only 20 minutes of interview at the Foreign Office, where Secretary of State Wendy Morton “expressed her disappointment at the confrontational tone used consistently by the French government, which does not return the situation easier to resolve ”, according to the British report.
Bad cooperation
The post-Brexit agreement, concluded in extremis at the end of 2020 between London and Brussels, provides that European fishermen can continue to work in certain British waters under certain conditions.
London claims to have granted 98% of EU vessel license applications to fish in its waters, a figure disputed by France, which speaks of 90%. In areas still disputed in particular, London and Jersey have granted a little more than 210 definitive licenses but Paris is still asking for more than 200. In this conflict on fishing, “the blame is not really shared”, “good faith is not on the British side ”, however estimated Friday on Franceinfo radio Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market. “Perhaps it is time for the British authorities to come to their senses.”
While waiting for a possible blockade of English landings in its ports on Tuesday, France has already started to strengthen controls on British ships. She confused a British trawler on Wednesday suspected of having caught more than two tonnes of unlicensed scallops. Its captain, who will be tried next August, faces a fine of up to 75,000 euros.
Fishermen, the first victims
However, the retaliatory measures envisaged by France are not unanimous: French fishmongers, who prepare and sell fresh seafood, have warned against blocking the export of British fishery products, recalling that the French market was also dependent on this resource.
In the English port of Newhaven (south), British fishermen regret to bear the brunt of the situation. For Neil Whitney, head of “About Time”, this conflict over fishing licenses in British and Channel waters is “political”.
Some EU members appear to be taking a cautious stance in the face of the conflict, with the German government calling on both sides to negotiate.
