This coming week, from Tuesday 12th, among the Brexit negotiations there will be a series of video conferences on fishing. By the end of the week there will be just six weeks left before the self-imposed deadline of having fishery matters settled by the end of June.
Until two days ago the United Kingdom had refused to produce a draft of the required legal agreement setting out how it sees a future fisheries agreement working in practice. That means that matters rested on the extremely vague principles set out in a document issued last February and that doesn’t seem to have been changed since.
A triumph of aspiration over detail, that document contained phrases such as:
“The UK is ready to consider an agreement on fisheries that reflects the fact that the UK will be an independent coastal state at the end of 2020.” and
“Overall, the framework agreement on fisheries should provide a clear basis for an on-going relationship with the EU, akin to the EU’s relationship with other coastal states, one that respects the UK’s status as an independent coastal state and the associated rights and obligations that come with this.”
Further, the proposal was
“for annual negotiations on access to the parties’ exclusive economic zones and fishing opportunities (total allowable catch and shares).”
From the start, the position of the EU has been that they are not prepared to deal with issues piecemeal. It has also seemed that, while they denied it, that was precisely the position of the UK team, led by Mr David Frost, the Government’s self described “Sherpa” in charge, incidentally neither a civil servant nor a politician.
Michel Barnier’s Statement of 24 April only confirmed what the EU has been saying from the beginning:
“Finally, we made no progress on fisheries.
On this essential topic, the UK has not put forward a legal text.
We have made no tangible progress despite the Political Declaration stating that we should make our best endeavours to reach an agreement by July. This is necessary to provide sufficient clarity for EU and UK fishermen, and also for all businesses linked to fisheries.
The EU will not agree to any future economic partnership that does not include a balanced, sustainable and long-term solution on fisheries. That should be crystal clear to the UK.”
On this essential topic, the UK has not put forward a legal text.
We have made no tangible progress despite the Political Declaration stating that we should make our best endeavours to reach an agreement by July. This is necessary to provide sufficient clarity for EU and UK fishermen, and also for all businesses linked to fisheries.
The EU will not agree to any future economic partnership that does not include a balanced, sustainable and long-term solution on fisheries. That should be crystal clear to the UK.”
It seems that last week the UK was, unsurprisingly, the first to blink. In tweets yesterday, David Frost declared
“I would also like to make clear that the EU have from us a full set of draft agreements” including
“A Fisheries Framework Agreement.”
What Mr Frost didn’t make clear was that, astonishingly, although a draft text has been sent to the EU negotiating team they are apparently not permitted to send it out to the EU member States. Also, it seems most unlikely that it has been shared with the Scottish Government or the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales.
I don’t think any further comment is necessary.
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