Tuesday 22nd December 2020
Agreement on fishing rights?
This compromise could save the Brexit deal
It's still only speculation, but according to observers, the almost impossible could actually be within reach: an agreement between the EU and Great Britain in the Brexit dispute. Media reports of a compromise on fishing quotas. The British side is keeping a low profile, however.
One and a half weeks before the end of the Brexit transition phase, speculation has increased about a near breakthrough in the question of future access for EU fishing trawlers to British waters. A last-minute trade pact no longer seems to be ruled out. A former member of the British negotiating team outlined what a compromise could look like in a guest post for the news portal "Politico".
Raoul Ruparel, once advisor to Prime Minister Theresa May, made a name for himself last year when he correctly predicted the compromise for the exit agreement. According to this, the fishing rights of the EU fishing trawlers are to be gradually reduced by 35 percent over a period of five years – previously the requirement was 60 percent. The British continue to have the option of bringing their fish to the European market duty-free.
This is to be flanked by the possibility for Brussels to introduce tariffs in the event that the British further restrict access for fishermen from the EU – but only at an independently determined amount. According to the "Financial Times", EU circles confirmed that there had been a similar offer from London. On the British side, however, according to the newspaper, the positions were still "far apart" and the talks were "brutally complicated". The Guardian also reported such a compromise, citing sources within the EU.
After leaving the EU in January, Great Britain is also leaving the internal market and the customs union at the turn of the year. The envisaged contract is intended to avert tariffs and trade barriers. Negotiators from both sides want to continue the last stalled talks on Tuesday, as both sides said. Should the negotiations fail, tariffs and other trade barriers loom and could worsen the chaos in Britain's ports caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A taste of No Deal
France surprisingly stopped all goods traffic from Great Britain on the English Channel on Sunday after the British government announced its findings about a new variant of the corona virus. Some saw the chaos on the English Channel as a foretaste of a possible no deal.
According to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, goods should be resumed as soon as possible. However, he did not give a date. The BBC reported in the morning that Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron had agreed on measures to open the border to freight transport. They are to be set out later and come into force on Wednesday, the broadcaster reported, citing the French European Minister Clément Beaune.
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