UK naval vessels arrive from Jersey as the fishing line with France intensifies

Two Royal Navy vessels have begun patrolling the waters of Jersey after Boris Johnson sent them into a deeper row between the UK and France over fishing rights.

The vessel – HMS Tamar and HMS Severn – is in crowded waters as more than 50 French fishing boats converged on Thursday in the port of St Helier, the capital of Jersey, to protest the island’s restrictions on French fishermen.

The demand that French ships be equipped with control devices and meet other licensing criteria caused France to threaten to cut off electricity supply to the Channel Island because of the dispute.

The disagreement comes amid more general complaints from French fishermen about difficulties in obtaining the necessary licenses to fish in British coastal waters, a topic covered by the EU-UK trade agreement reached last year.

On Wednesday evening, Downing Street said Johnson had spoken with the chief minister of Jersey and the foreign minister about the threat of a blockade of St Helier by the French fisherman.

“The Prime Minister emphasized his unwavering support for Jersey. He said any blockade would be completely unjustified, “a spokesman said.” As a precautionary measure, the UK will send two offshore patrol vessels to monitor the situation. “

Fishermen on the French coast of Normandy say they have worked in these waters for years, but now face unreasonable borders after Brexit.

Dimitri Rogoff, who heads the Normandy regional fisheries committee, said the idea was not to block St Helier, but to make a point.

Carteret fisherman Camille Lécureuil told AFP, the French news agency, that protesters had decided on Thursday morning to stop the departure of a cargo ship, Commodore Goodwill, despite the plan was for the ships to return to France in the afternoon.

“It’s a peaceful move, things don’t need to get out of hand,” he said. “We even have the support of Jersey. Three fishermen from the island have come to support us ”.

Meanwhile, Brussels has intervened in the dispute and has asked Britain to explain the conditions for access to the waters of Jersey.

According to two people informed on the subject, the European Commission has written to the UK government to ask for clarification on the special conditions attached to the fishing licenses in Jersey and has requested that they not apply in the meantime.

The letter, sent on Tuesday, says that under the terms of the “trade and cooperation” agreement reached by Britain and the EU last year, the UK should have warned Brussels in advance. of any additional conditions associated with obtaining licenses.

Brussels says in the letter that these requirements should be scientific and non-discriminatory. He also says the conditions should not be applied until Britain has shown that they are justified on these grounds, according to people informed about the content of the letter.

A spokesman for the commission said Brussels had “clearly indicated to the UK that the provisions of the EU-UK TCA had not been complied with”.

“Until the British authorities provide further justifications for the new conditions, these new conditions should not apply,” the spokesman said. “The commission maintains close contact with France and the United Kingdom in this regard.”

Brussels has the option of opening formal dispute settlement proceedings with the United Kingdom in accordance with the terms of the trade agreement between the two parties if the EU decides that Britain violates the spirit of the agreement. , which preserved some EU fishing rights in waters close to the Channel Islands.

Jersey, the largest member of the archipelago and dependent on the British Crown, receives 95% of its electricity from France via submarine cables. Its foreign policy is governed by the United Kingdom, which means that the EU treats it as a third country.

Annick Girardin, the French maritime minister, told the French National Assembly on Tuesday that she was “outraged” that Jersey had granted 41 fishing licenses that included specific conditions and criteria that were “decided unilaterally and without explanation.”

“It’s unacceptable,” he told lawmakers. “We are ready to resort to retaliatory measures. . . as for Jersey, I will remind you of the transport of electricity through submarine cables ”. Girardin added that he would “regret” any action, but “we will do it if necessary.”

French fishermen and ministers have been complaining for two weeks about the difficulty of accessing British waters despite the fisheries agreement reached late last year.

Clément Beaune, the French supplier of European Affairs, threatened last week to block regulations that would allow British financial companies to do business in the EU if Britain did not respect its Brexi fishing commitments.

Bertrand Sorre, a member of the government of La République en Marche, president of President Emmanuel Macron, shared the example of a fisherman from Granville, Normandy. The man had previously fished for scallops and strains for an average of 40 days a year outside of Jersey, but had been told that this year he could only fish for 11 days and only for scallops.

Ian Gorst, Jersey’s foreign minister, said the island had issued licenses under the UK’s trade and cooperation agreement with the EU and that the new regime “would take time to adjust all” .

The UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We are clear that Jersey is responsible for its territorial waters.”

Nadhim Zahawi, the UK’s business minister, urged both sides to “solve” the problems related to fishing. “We need to look at it urgently and the best way to fix it is to work together,” he told Sky News.