EU and UK agree post-Brexit fishing quotas

The European Union and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement on fishing quotas in joint reserves, overcoming a paradox that has been pending since Britain’s exit from the European bloc.

“We have an agreement with Britain on fishing opportunities for 2022,” EU Fishing Commissioner Virginius Synkevicius said on Twitter on Wednesday.

He added that the agreement reached on Tuesday “covers all jointly managed fisheries in British European waters and is based on the best scientific information available”.

Sinkevicius said last week that no deal had been reached with Britain “despite our best efforts”.

It was the first post-Brexit UK-EU fishing agreement, after most EU rules no longer applied to it last January.

According to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement that defines relations with Brexit, Brussels and London must negotiate an annual fishing quota to ensure the activity is sustainable.

The agreement was reached on the same day that London signed a separate fisheries agreement with Norway, which is not a member of the European Union and is also negotiating with Brussels over shared fisheries resources.

The European Council, which represents 27 EU member states, said the agreement was under review by legal experts and ready to be translated into all the bloc’s languages, and that it would enter into force on January 1, 2022.

Meanwhile, civil organizations have criticized the agreement as unsustainable.

“As was the case before Brexit, they continued to prioritize short-term commercial interests over the long-term sustainability of fish and fishermen,” the NGO ClientEarth claimed in a statement.

On the other hand, the dispute between the UK and France over fishing licenses for boats in British waters remains unresolved.

London reluctantly granted many of the licenses requested by France and the European Commission, but French fishermen complain that dozens are waiting, so Paris has asked Brussels to open a lawsuit against Britain.

rmb / mas / review