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Sources close to the negotiation have informed FARO that Brussels is offering a transition period of six years that would allow the maintenance of access to the waters of the fleets of both parties and a subsequent negotiation, to which it adds an offer of quotas for the species. that Community vessels catch in British waters: 160 million euros, that is, up to 25% of the fishing opportunities at stake and which mainly affect pelagic species such as herring or mackerel and other demersal species such as sole. The approach, which transcended the sector yesterday, raises blisters between the European Fisheries Alliance (EUFA) and the Spanish employer Cepesca. The former contacted the ministries of Fisheries of the nine countries they represent (including Spanish) and sent letters begging them to intervene, while the latter were blunt: “The EU is about to hand over the fishing and betray the sector” .

Barnier’s proposal was outlined on Friday and yesterday it began to filter into the community level before the deadline to reach a pact, set by the European Parliament for this midnight (since if later it would not give time for its ratification for January). The negotiator transferred the offer to the so-called Sherpas, diplomats assigned by each member state to closely monitor the negotiation. However, not all countries were aware, since, according to what the same sources informed this newspaper, only the most directly affected states were consulted: Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and France.

The 160 million in quotas captured by Community vessels in British waters represent a jump compared to the 100 raised by Barnier previously and which were equivalent to between 15% and 18% of the quotas compared to the current 25%. This concession on the community side, however, sIt is still very far from the requests of London, which aims to retain at least 60% of the fishing opportunities (valued as a whole at 637 million per year), that is, more than double what Brussels offers.

The first calculations of the EUFA place the direct impact of the measure in the case of Spain and its fleet of 5%, although it would be countries like France (which also has Galician ships flagged with the tricolore) that would take the worst part (more than 20% in this case).

Beyond the quotas, which already worries the Community fleet a great deal, what is a major problem is the transition period of six years, which according to some sources at first reached ten and then eight. During this time, access to water will be allowed, but once it is passed, an agreement would have to be re-negotiated, a situation that prevents companies from having a wide and clear time horizon.

Although a response from David Frost and his team is not yet known, British sources consulted by Efe stressed yesterday that the positions remain “very far apart” in the negotiations and that there are “significant pending issues” on fishing and subsidies, therefore that the “most likely” outcome is not reaching an agreement. Be that as it may, in the EUFA there is also the fear that Barnier’s offer will be extended in the face of a refusal from London.

LASTED

Closure and patrol boats

The start of the talks was not good, with London betting heavily on a total closure of all community boats and the deployment of an army to control its waters and ensure that no fishing boats entered.

Closure and patrol boats

UNION

Firm approach

From the beginning, Member States, industry and Barnier himself were aligned in not giving in on the fishing ground. To protect their claims, the industry of nine EU countries formed the European Fisheries Alliance (EUFA).

Firm approach EUFA

IMPOSSIBLE

“Norwegian”

An agreement to the norway, A country that is part of the free trade area, it also appeared in the talks for fisheries during the term of Theresa May, which would imply annual negotiations of joint quotas, something that the EU rejected.

Impossible, Norwegian Vickie Flores

MARKETING

Dance of millions

In the final stretch, and before the effective date of the United Kingdom leaving the EU, a marketing of the quotas at stake began, with London requesting up to 80% and the EU initially offering no more than 18% (100 million).

Marketing, dance of millions Efe

Reactions

The proposal of the community negotiator yesterday stirred the entire industry and the governments most affected. In Spain, the sector met with the Secretary General for Fisheries, Alicia Villauriz from Galicia, in an atmosphere of “nervousness” and “great concern”. For the fishing employers, the offer represents a “historical error”, as the general secretary of Cepesca, Javier Garat, described it. In his opinion, this is “a crucial moment” in which “the companies affected” would go “to ruin” if the Community approach was to go ahead. “They still have time to react. As Barnier said, the future should not be sacrificed to save the present, ”Garat said. The National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds (FNCP) also joined the bosses’ protests.

Similarly, the president of the EUFA, an alliance of the industry of the sector of Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, whose fleets make 40% of their catches in British waters. “Our industry is literally and metaphorically on the edge of the abyss and, despite repeated promises, we are about to be sold with the offer made to the United Kingdom by the European Commission”, criticized the Dutch Gerard van Balsfoort, who through In a note, he estimated that Barnier’s offer “is just as bad” as in the event of a non-agreement and that “it would be a great blow to the European fishing sector.” “This is a desperate slap in the face and potentially the biggest and most catastrophic setback of our time,” van Balsfoort said.

After this first reaction, the EUFA contacted the governments of the countries to which they are part to alert of the situation through a letter. “On behalf of thousands of EU fishermen, we ask you to stand your ground and disagree with what the European Commission has proposed to the UK as a possible outcome for the fishery. Doing so would be a nail of death for the European fishing industry, ”the Alliance pleaded in the letters, which in the Spanish case were sent to the Minister of Fisheries, Luis Planas, and to the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The British Parliament criticizes its Government for the negotiation

The British Parliament committee charged with analyzing lhe future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union has admonished the British Government for its “lack of preparation” when undertaking a new stage with the European bloc. The Committee for the Future Relationship with the EU considers “disappointing” that some decisions “have been delayed so long”, such as the Irish border issue. “The citizens of Northern Ireland deserved to know much earlier the commercial terms within their own country”According to the conclusions, which also warn of the decrease in access to databases on security issues.