British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday sent two Royal Navy patrol boats to Jersey over concerns that French fishers could blockade its main port in an escalating post-Brexit row.
France on Tuesday said that it was weighing its response after the UK imposed rules governing access for French fishing boats near the Channel Islands, and said it could involve the electricity supply via underwater cables.
French fishers yesterday also planned to converge on the island’s main port, Saint Helier, although authorities have said they do not intend to block access.
Photo: AFP
However, Johnson on Wednesday announced that he was sending two patrol vessels “as a precautionary measure,” adding that a blockade “would be completely unjustified.”
British Member of Parliament Tobias Ellwood accused France of “shameful behavior,” saying that “it would be wise to dispatch” a Royal Navy vessel.
French Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin accused Jersey of dragging its feet over the issuing of licenses to French vessels under the terms of Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal with Brussels.
Jersey, a self-governing British Crown dependency off the coast of France, has said that it would require boats to submit more details before the licenses could be granted, and pleaded for patience.
Johnson spoke to Jersey Chief Minister John Le Fondre on Wednesday, when the pair “stressed the urgent need for a de-escalation in tensions,” Downing Street said in a statement.
“The prime minister underlined his unwavering support for Jersey,” it added.
A spokesman for Johnson’s government earlier called threats over Jersey’s electricity supply “unacceptable and disproportionate.”
Jersey External Affairs Minister Ian Gorst told BBC Radio on Wednesday: “It would seem disproportionate to cut off electricity for the sake of needing to provide extra details so that we can refine the licenses.”
Paris and London have increasingly clashed over fishing, as French fishers say that they are being prevented from operating in British waters because of difficulties in obtaining licenses.
Yesterday morning, about 100 French fishing vessels were to sail to the Jersey port to protest over the issuing of the licenses, the head of fisheries for the Normandy region, Dimitri Rogoff, told reporters.
However, they would not try to blockade the port and would return to France in the afternoon, Rogoff said.
Britain on Friday last week authorized 41 French ships equipped with vessel monitoring system technology — which allows ships to be located — to fish in the waters off Jersey.
However, this list was accompanied by new demands, which the French Ministry of the Sea has said were not arranged or discussed with Paris, effectively creating new zoning rules for the waters near Jersey.
British Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Business and Industry Nadhim Zahawi said that the two sides need to work “constructively” on “operational challenges that we need to fix together.”
“This is an issue for the [European] Commission to work with our team,” he told Sky News.
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