Salty language: why are UK and France fighting over fishing licences?

Britain and France have been at loggerheads over post-Brexit fishing licences for UK waters since the start of the year. Talks are continuing but both sides have threatened action – and mistranslations have not helped.

From the Guardian Explainers:

What’s at the heart of the row?

Under the Brexit trade and cooperation agreement (TCA), French fishers may continue to fish between six and 12 miles from the UK shore and off Guernsey and Jersey until 2026 if they have a discretionary licence issued by Britain.

To be granted that licence, they must have previously fished in those waters between 2012 and 2016 – but the two countries disagree over the evidence required for past activity, and how much of it should be needed.

The nub of the argument is that in the disputed zones (six-to-12 miles, and around Jersey and Guernsey), the TCA defines which boats qualify for licences through their past activity – but it does not specify exactly what proof is required.

What are both sides threatening?

France says the rules imposed by the UK, Jersey and Guernsey are unfair to smaller boats, which typically do not have the GPS equipment to prove past presence in UK waters. Britain says it is entitled to ask for the evidence it wants.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called on Monday for further talks, lifting a threat to ban UK boats from unloading at some French ports, carry out extra licence checks, tighten controls of trucks and reinforce customs and hygiene controls from Tuesday.

Both sides seem to believe the other has – or is about to – breach the terms of the TCA.

France’s Europe minister, Clément Beaune, said on Sunday that the UK had failed to issue a “significant amount” of licences and was “targeting one country”. This was “not a technical issue, it’s a political choice and a breach of the TCA”, he said.

Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, on Monday gave France 48 hours to withdraw its “completely unreasonable” threats, warning that the UK could otherwise “use the mechanisms of our trade agreement with the EU to take action”.

What happens next?

It depends how talks go, what, if any, measures France implements, and how the UK chooses to respond, but either or both parties could enter the TCA dispute settlement process.

Given the rhetoric from both sides, and the domestic political advantage to be won from playing tough, it is hard to see a rapid de-escalation. There may be little appetite in the EU27 for a fish war, but there is also a sense Britain is pushing its luck too often.

Matters have also not been helped by mistranslations. Boris Johnson on Sunday cited a letter from the French prime minister, Jean Castex, to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, which he said called on the EU to “punish” Britain. Other reports said the letter asked the EU to “cause damage” to the UK. The phrase might be better translated as: “It is vital to show European public opinion that respect for commitments entered into is not negotiable, and that it is more detrimental to leave the EU than to remain in it.”

The point was unfortunately phrased, but has been made by many EU leaders since the Brexit referendum.