France will decide over the coming days on possible actions if its fishermen don’t get access to U.K. waters in accordance with the Brexit deal.
One response could be preventing U.K. fishermen from offloading their catch in French harbors, said Clement Beaune, France’s minister for European affairs.
“We aren’t asking for a favor, we are asking the U.K. to implement the Brexit accord,” Beaune told France 3 TV. “Dialogue has resumed, because we have raised our voice with the British in the past few days.”
Beaune acknowledged “some improvement” in the situation as a result, said it has been “largely insufficient.”
The French prime minister’s office will detail the potential retaliation measures in the next few days, Beaune said. He’s previously threatened to increase prices to export French energy to the U.K.—but added that Paris wouldn’t just cut off power. The implementation of an agreement over financial ties has already been stalled.
France gave the U.K. until the end of October to approve licenses for French fishermen who’ve historically fished in U.K. waters, before taking retaliatory measures.
These fishing rights are at the heart of current tensions between Paris and London, with France saying that Britain has been slow in granting the permits despite authorities and fishermen having provided all the requested documents.
