“In the coming days we will ask the European Commission to start the dispute proceedings, which is a legal procedure for the licenses to which we are entitled.” This was stated by Minister of State for European Affairs Clement Bonn, Friday, after a meeting between President Emmanuel Macron with French fishermen and local administrators.
France wants the Commission to request a meeting of the Association Council. In that council, the EU and the UK must ensure the correct application of the free trade agreement that has governed economic relations between the two partners since Brexit. Boone noted that the council is a “political body that has never met.” The French want to put more pressure on them, and make it clear to the British that this is a “European problem”.
The free trade agreement, which has been in effect since the beginning of this year, among other things, states that European fishermen can continue to work in British waters if they can prove that they were already active there before Brexit. However, Paris and London have been arguing for months about the nature and extent of evidence to be presented. And Minister Annick Girardin said France was still waiting for 73 permits that it believed were worth obtaining.
