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France threatens harbour ban on UK ships from next week as fishing row deepens
France will ban UK fishing boats from its harbours from next week as part of a series of tough sanctions on Britain unless London moves to resolve a long-running dispute over licences for French fishing vessels.
In a statement on Wednesday 27 October, France’s Europe minister Clément Beaune and maritime minister Annick Girardin threatened sanctions including a ban on British fishing vessels landing in designated ports, increased sanitary and customs controls, safety checks on British ships and more controls on lorries travelling to and from the UK.
The moves are set to enter into force on 2 November.
The French government has repeatedly accused the UK of not respecting its commitments on fishing set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in January, and the licencing row started just weeks after the UK left the EU’s single market.
France says its fishermen have been give fewer than half the licences they need to fish in British waters, and that the licenses issued to them included conditions that were not in the EU-UK trade deal.
The disputed French licenses relate to the waters next to the Channel Islands and the 6/12 miles of waters from the UK coast.
“Despite 10 months of intense discussions, the UK government has still not honoured its signature,” reads the statement.
“The UK has so far failed to respond to our demands, and has even introduced new conditions not provided for in the trade and cooperation agreement,” it added.
Källa: EURACTIV