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What decided that it would finally become a settlement?
On the politically very sensitive issue of fishing, Britain finally relented and further eased its demand that only British vessels should be allowed to fish in British waters. Earlier this week, both the EU and the UK tabled their respective compromise proposals, which were rejected by the other party.
The British proposal focused on coastal fishing and met mainly in France and the Netherlands. Ireland, Denmark and Sweden, which fish more in deeper waters, were dissatisfied. The British failed to bridge a gap between the countries.
What is most impressive from an EU point of view is that the 19 countries that do not share fishing waters with the UK have stood in solidarity with this coastal group. After all, fishing is a marginal economic problem within the Union.
Indeed, cohesion between the Member States is almost unique in the history of the EU. The many other disputes between the 27 have been completely sidelined in the Brexit negotiations. There, chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his team, including Sweden’s Paulina Dejmek-Hack, played a crucial role. They have been in constant contact with the Member States, with the European Parliament and with national parliaments.
EU Deputy Chief Negotiator Paulina Dejmek-Hack.
Photo: Pia Gripenberg
– Barnier has succeeded in making all countries feel important with the work of art. Malta and Lithuania are seen as France, an EU diplomat told me during the exit deal negotiations last year.
This consensus has finally sunk in Britain, which has made the biggest concessions last week. In the final phase, negotiations were initially conducted directly between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. It was then that the parties reached the final compromise on fishing.
Who wins the most on the deal?
Everyone wins the deal. 28 countries and more than 500 million inhabitants. A non-contractual status that ended this strange year 2020 would have been terrible: more unemployed, risk of the major auto industry drastically reducing operations in the UK, goods not arriving on time due to lack of documents from truck drivers adequate, higher prices for all products. that the UK exports to the EU, etc.
But the population of the fishing communities is said to be dissatisfied. On the British side, the fishing industry must continue to share its quotas. On the EU side because fishing cannot continue as before. But EU fishermen also know that a non-contractual permit would have meant they wouldn’t have access to British waters at all. The ships that had tried ran the risk of being confronted with the British navy, which Boris Johnson promised to mobilize to protect the waters.
British fishing boats have now increased quotas compared to before. It is also in the direction of the key that these fees will gradually increase in the future.
What happens now?
The agreement will be discussed in the British Parliament and approved by the 27 EU member states. In two of them, Finland and the Netherlands, Parliament will have the opportunity to debate the agreement. In Sweden, the EU Committee must be informed. Also, lawyers for authorities such as customs and aviation authorities should have time to read the texts so that no mistakes have been made regarding references to various sections, etc.
The agreement must be watertight if disputes arise between the parties in the future and this leads to legal proceedings.
Will French President Emmanuel Macron say yes to the deal with Great Britain?
Photo: Olivier Hoslet / Pool via AP
These reviews will take several days. There is also a small risk that a member state is not satisfied with the result. France has pushed the hardest line during the negotiations and says the country does not fall for the entire deal. So you can sum up the situation in one word: chaos.
However, Michel Barnier has previously been Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in a French government. This suggests that during the negotiations he should have been clear about where France’s pain line is going.
As of January 1, the agreement can be applied provisionally. Only when the European Parliament gives its go-ahead next year, as it surely will, will the agreement formally enter into force.
Read more. Pia Gripenberg: That is why it is so difficult to agree on fishing
Read more: This is how the battle for fishing grounds hits Swedish professional fishermen
