The British government has played down hopes of a breakthrough in a row with France over post-Brexit fishing licences, despite European perceptions of a “constructive” spirit and “positive dynamic”. The French transport minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, said he had spoken to his UK counterpart on Tuesday evening. “The spirit is a constructive one,” he said, noting that French fishers had been granted 49 more licences on Monday. But a UK government spokesperson said the Brexit minister, David Frost, would “reaffirm our existing position” when he meets France’s Europe minister, Clément Beaune, in Paris on Thursday to discuss the issue. Tensions could be eased, however, by a French court ruling on Wednesday that a British scallop dredger seized by French authorities last week could leave immediately with no requirement to pay a €150,000 (£127,000) deposit. The rancorous dispute over French fishing rights in the six to 12-mile zone from the UK shore and around Guernsey and Jersey has helped take British-French relations to a post-Brexit low.
The European Commission sounded a more optimistic note. “Officials from the UK, France, Jersey and the commission have been meeting for the past two days,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday. “These talks have allowed us to chart the way forward on several aspects and have created a positive dynamic aiming at a solution.” The spokesperson said technical talks would continue on Wednesday, including with some officials from Guernsey. The talks “have allowed for better understanding of the outstanding issues, which have been impeding quicker progress and we hope that the positive engagement on all sides will soon translate into concrete results,” they said. UK government sources said they were going to the meeting on Thursday with a “solutions focus” but cautioned against expecting any big breakthrough. While not ruling out progress, they said they did not anticipate all the issues would be resolved at the Paris meeting. A UK government spokesperson said Lord Frost’s response to Beaune would reaffirm “that vessels must provide the relevant evidence if they want to receive a license [sic] to fish in our waters – and that our licensing criteria and methodology remains unchanged”. They added: “We remain open to considering new evidence and will continue to talk to the French government, EU commission and Jersey authorities, as we have been doing for months.” Only days ago the dispute had threatened to tip into a trade war. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced that talks would continue on Monday as he stepped back from a threat to impose full customs checks on UK goods and ban UK boats entering some French ports from 2 November. Beaune then invited Frost for an “in-depth discussion over the difficulties in applying the agreements between the EU and the UK” in Paris on Thursday. Beaune said last week that the “language of strength … seems to be the only thing this British government understands”. The two men clashed on Twitter over the weekend, both setting our their claims as to why the other side was in breach of the post-Brexit trade agreement.
Frost said the UK government had granted 98% of fishing licence applications and was acting in good faith to meet its obligations. He said that if the French threats were implemented, the EU would be in breach of the post-Brexit trade and cooperation agreement (TCA). Beaune countered that more than 90% of licences had been granted for the EU as a whole, but the missing ones were all French. “After 10 months, when such a significant amount of licences, targeting one country, is missing, it’s not a technical issue, it’s a political choice and a breach of the TCA,” he said. Under the trade agreement, French fishers can continue to fish around the Channel Islands and six to 12 miles off the UK shore until 2026 as long as they obtain a licence from British authorities. To receive that licence they must provide evidence of having fished in those waters between 2012 and 2016, but Britain and France have disagreed over the kind of evidence required. France says the requirement for GPS data is unfair on small boats, which do not have the equipment. The UK government says it determines the evidence required, while stressing there is no deadline to submit proof to get a licence. Jersey said it had granted the 49 licences issued on Monday on a temporary basis. The prime minister’s official spokesperson said the government was keen to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol with Beaune. Asked what success would look like at Thursday’s talks, he said: “We are seeking substantive changes to the protocol with the EU. These changes are necessary because the protocol as it’s currently being enforced is extremely damaging to the people of Northern Ireland and the businesses therein.” He insisted relations between the UK and France remained friendly. The UK and EU are deadlocked over revising the Northern Irish protocol, the Brexit agreement that kept the region in the EU single market and customs union to prevent a land border. Frost is due to meet the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič for further talks on Friday, as both sides try to settle the issue before the end of the year.