If London does not issue more fishing licenses by this Friday, France will ask the European Union to initiate legal action against the UK, government official Clement Beyonc said.
Peon also accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of failing to divide Europe and isolate France in a dispute over a fishing license.
The French government expects the UK to approve nearly 100 fishing licenses to operate in British territorial waters, Peon said. “If the UK grants a few dozen licenses today as a show of goodwill (…), we will take that into account,” Peon told France Radio.
Otherwise, France will ask the commission over the weekend to initiate legal action.
France and the United Kingdom have agreed on a licensing procedure for accessing fishing boats to each other after the United Kingdom left the European Union.
Paris says it does not have the licenses it should have (under the “Brexit” agreement, European fishermen must only prove that they have already fished there), and that the UK does not license only those who are not licensed. Provided the necessary documents.
Although both countries represent a small part of the economy, the issue is politically sensitive.
“Boris Johnson thought he could isolate France. We reorganized [os europeus] That is why the agreement is respected, ”he said.
France will ask the EU to mediate in the matter through a commission of British and European delegates overseeing the implementation of the Brexit agreement, French Foreign Minister Annick Girardin said on Thursday. David Frost, the British Minister for Brexit, said London was considering using the mechanism to resolve the dispute.
If it fails, the minister said he would ask the French commission to initiate legal action, which would take time.
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