Emmanuel Macron has reportedly dropped demands for a post-Brexit security deal to be linked to fishing rights in a boost for UK defence firms. The French President is said to have been told by some EU leaders to treat the issues separately amid the ongoing Ukraine war.
The Labour Government is aiming to strike a defence pact with Brussels as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s wider Brexit reset. An agreement would potentially mean British companies can bid for contracts under a new £150billion defence fund unveiled by the bloc last month.
An EU source told the Daily Mail: “Even Emmanuel Macron isn’t stupid enough to let fish get in the way.”
The current fishing arrangements are due to expire in June next year under the post-Brexit deal.
Tory shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois said it would have been “absurd” for a fishing row to have blocked the UK’s access to the defence
He said: “Under Boris Johnson’s 2020 Trade and Co-operation Agreement with the EU, there was a ‘transition period’ of five years, after which the UK would gain much greater control over its domestic fishing rights.
“This is why some EU nations are now pushing to retain access to our waters.
“However, with Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine still ongoing, it would be absurd for a dispute over fishing rights to result in UK defence companies being barred from a fund designed to strengthen our defences and support the brave Ukrainians.”
It comes after the EU’s foreign policy chief last month suggested talks over fishing should not block a security deal.
Former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas said: “I’m actually surprised at how important the fish are, considering the security situation”.
Meanwhile, European Council President António Costa in February insisted the two areas “cannot be put on the same level”.
