The expected defeat inflicted by the UK Parliament on Theresa May’s government and the deal agreed with the EU hasn’t escaped notice in Europe, and the President of French industry body CNPMEM commented that the vote has taken the situation from sailing in fog to one of steaming through troubled waters.
According to CNPMEM, the agreed deal allowed for an orderly UK withdrawal from the EU with a transitional period, creating the necessary climate for fisheries and trade agreements to be struck.
‘Given the international obligations relating to the management of shared stocks, and the recognition by both the United Kingdom and the European Union of the importance of sustainable management of resources, it is inconceivable that there can be no agreement,’ a CNPMEM spokesman said, commenting that there is no certainty that a deal can be agreed before 29th March and the prospect of a no deal Brexit has come closer.
‘Such a ‘no deal’ scenario could have catastrophic effects for French and European fisheries. Like the European Coalition to which we belong, the European Fisheries Alliance, we can only take note of the fact that we have just taken a step further towards this scenario. If until now we had been sailing in fog, now we are now sailing in troubled waters,’ said CNPMEM President Gérard Romiti.
He commented that CNPMEM, as well as its European counterparts, will closely follow the British political situation as it develops, while taking great care that the European Union continues to defend firmly the acquis communautaire, adding that the trust of Europeans in European institutions is at stake.
‘I call on the European Commission and our government to take all necessary actions and steps to anticipate the potential and multiple impacts on our fleets, our communities and the sustainability of fisheries resources, that would result from a UK exit without an agreement on 29th March,’ Gérard Romiti said.
