France is threatening revenge again in the fisheries dispute

France’s Minister of State for Europe, Bonn, insists that fishing licenses are suspended.

In the Brexit dispute over fishing rights, the French Minister of State for Europe, Clement Boone, has stepped up and threatened London with retaliation in financial services. In the Journal du Dimanche, a close associate of the Head of State, Emmanuel Macron, said Sunday that about 40 licenses for French fishermen in British waters are still missing. He is confident that these licenses will be granted. Otherwise, there will be retaliatory measures.

“We will not hesitate to respond in other areas, such as access to financial services, as the British are interested in that,” Boone said. Last week, a fishing dispute escalated between London and Paris off Channel Island in Jersey, which belongs to the British Crown and not to the United Kingdom. Dozens of French fishermen temporarily closed the port of Saint Helier Island – within sight of British and French warships. In the dispute over fishing licenses, France threatened to retaliate if necessary and suspend power over Jersey.

Boone was confident that Jersey would withdraw the additional license terms for hunters. Regarding the fisheries crisis that followed the UK’s final withdrawal from the European Union, he said: “Don’t fool yourself. We as the European Union will be constantly tested by the British for our responsiveness and determination.”

In the Brexit trade agreement, it was agreed that EU fishermen would still be able to catch 75 percent of what they had been during a five-and-a-half-year transitional period in British waters. The quotas should then be set annually. The services were not included in the negotiations for the Brexit trade agreement. It was only at the end of March that London and the European Union agreed on principles of voluntary cooperation in regulating financial services.

(Ma / dpa)