London [UK]: Amid the ongoing fishing dispute between UK and France, the two countries are set to resume talks “early next week”. France’s Europe Minister, Clement Beaune, said on Twitter his meeting on Thursday with Britain’s Brexit Minister, David Frost, aimed to “re-launch a necessary dialogue and ensure the implementation of our agreements”, reported euronews. A British government spokesperson said at the end of the meeting that “as expected, they discussed the full range of difficulties arising from the application of the agreements between the UK and the EU. Both sides have set out their positions and concerns.” They added that further talks will take place “early next week”, reported euronews. The row between London and Paris over fishing licences escalated last month with France warning of retaliatory measures and detaining a British vessel caught fishing in French waters without a licence. The French government said that several fishing licences requested by French fishermen have not been approved and accuses the UK of not respecting the deal struck before the country’s final departure from the bloc, reported euronews. The post-Brexit agreement with the European Union said fishermen could continue to fish in British waters if they obtained a licence and proved that they previously were fishing there. Paris however said that a lot of the French boats who fish in British waters are small, artisanal, enterprises that do not necessarily have the technology to prove they had accessed British waters for years, reported euronews. The dispute has seen France threaten to close its ports to some British vessels, increase customs checks on goods coming from the United Kingdom and cut the power supply to the island of Jersey — a self-governing dependency of the British Crown. The UK has flatly denied the accusation and branded the French threats “disappointing and disproportionate”. It also argued that if France moved ahead with its threats, it would be in breach of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
