Negotiations are in progress between the UK and the EU on a fisheries deal, and rumours are circulating that the UK will give way, as in the past, to secure wider UK benefits.
The Cornish FPO is asking whether Will Keir Starmer follow in the footsteps of Edward Heath and Boris Johnson to sell out the UK fishing industry yet again, or will he pull off a deal that brings the UK a bit closer to its proper status as an independent coastal state?
‘The Boris Johnson government spectacularly failed to deliver on its verbose promises on fishing and tried to cover his failure with a £100 million bung to the industry. The EU made the Trade and Cooperation Agreement contingent on continued access for EU fleets and quota shares not too distant from the relative stability shares that pertained when the UK was subject to the Common Fisheries Policy. At the 11th hour the UK caved in,’ a CFPO representative commented, but accepted that five years on, the world is a different place from that Christmas Eve negotiations collapse.
‘Ukraine and Trumpworld have brought the need for new alignments. The UK and the EU need a closer relationship on defence. Both sides want a closer relationship on trade while avoiding politically damaging optics of undermining hard-won sovereignty and unity. It is a delicate dance and fishing has the potential to be a toxic disruptor. Both sides will ensure that that doesn’t happen. The EU has cards to play but they are the nuclear variety – defence, tariffs, withholding a deal on energy. The UK has the access card but will also want to avoid the scenario of EU fleets tied up in port, denied access to the UK EEZ.’
A deal that gives both sides something – a classic compromise – is available, the CFPO states.
‘The EU is desperate to secure a multi-year agreement that would guarantee access. For the UK, the issue is the price. The EU wants access to the UK’s 200-mile EEZ. The UK wants an exclusive 12-mile limit to reserve inshore fishing for its coastal fleets, in line with most other coastal states. It also wants improvements on its quota shares on those stocks where there is an acute shortage. A deal that meets in the middle, and perhaps also sets up new modes of cooperating on fishing as independent sovereign entities, are all within reach.’
