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The meeting between French presidents, Emmanuel MacronAnd the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, An attempt to combine the positions in the fishing license conflict ended in disagreement, and no unanimous solution was reached between the two.
Meeting of the two rulers Between the G20 summit in Rome Seek to find common ground and end the fishing conflict between the two countries: If the fishing license agreed in the Brexit agreement is not granted, Paris will threaten London with retaliatory measures starting next Tuesday.
In less than 48 hours, on November 2, these measures against the British fisheries sector announced by the French government took effect after not obtaining all the fishing licenses in the British waters that it claimed to be entitled to under the Brexit agreement.
On the French side, the Elysée Palace expressed reconciliation after the meeting. A source at the French Presidential Palace stated Willingness to “downgrade”A statement from the Elysée Palace said: “The two leaders agreed to discuss the issue of fishing permits in the next few hours and days.”
The French statement added that Macron stated that “he is willing to continue the dialogue on the basis of demand, seriousness and respect.” He also insisted that it is “necessary” for London to “respect” the commitments made with the European Union (EU) in the Brexit agreement.
However, when the Downing Street spokesperson claimed that the apparent conciliatory spirit of the meeting was soon questioned. Johnson had urged Macron to withdraw his “threat” He also expressed his “deep concern over the remarks made by the French government in recent days.”
French sources point out that these different interpretations show “mental differences” because “we made a compromise interpretation” to support respect for the signed agreement.
France warned that After ten months of negotiations, not all the licenses were receivedFrom November 2nd, British fishing vessels will be prohibited from unloading at French ports and will systematically control British fishery products arriving in the country.
The most severely affected ships are those in the English Channel region, especially those working at the port of Boulogne sur Mer, which is 6 to 12 miles from the southern coast of England, the chairman of the departmental committee explained to EFE. Mancha (Normandy), Jean Morin.
Although the political scope of the dispute is huge, its economic impact is minimal. Moreover, in the United Kingdom, these figures are similar because fisheries and related activities also account for about 0.05% of its GDP.
Nevertheless, fishing activities are still important in the local economy of some French coastal cities such as Boulogne sur Mer, Lorient or Saint Jean de Luz. But this fisheries conflict seems to have an important political element, because it happened at a time when the bilateral relations between London and Paris deteriorated.