Emmanuel Macron was allegedly forced into a humiliating climbdown in the 11th hour of negotiations over a post-Brexit EU-UK fishing deal. The French president dropped his demands for fishing rights to be linked to a defence deal during 2021 negotiations – but not after a tense stand-off, according to reports. Insiders have also warned that Macron could still push for a fishing deal as a precondition for a defence pact during Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘Great EU Reset’ summit next week.
A source from Brussels told GB News that the French leader entered into a bitter five-day stalemate with then-Brexitminister Lord Frost during talks over the current EU-UK fishing deal in 2021. The stand-off eventually saw Macron back down and agree to mutual access for UK and EU vessels in each other’s waters until June 2026, rather than his preference for a four-year fishing deal as a pre-condition to a defence pact.
After being fact-checked on incorrect claims that the UK had failed to grant more than 40% of French fishing licence applications, when the true figure was just under 4%, among other disproved figures, Macron was reportedly left with little choice but to back down during the initial talks.
French claims that up to 10% of EU licences had not been granted by the UK also turned out to be false, GB News reports, with the actual number around 2.1%.
The UK government’s unyielding commitment to upholding the rules laid out in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement also gave the French leader little wiggle room.
However, with the current fishing arrangements due to expire next June, insiders have warned that the UK Prime Minister’s plans to secure a deal that would allow UK defence firms to apply for contracts under the EU’s €150 billion defence fund could cause the issue to rear its head again.
The UK government hailed independent control of fishing policies as a cornerstone aim of Brexit – promising to make Britain an “independent coastal state” capable of controlling foreign access to its waters.
The UK’s exit from the EU involved leaving the bloc’s Common Fishing Policy, through which EU fishers reportedly benefitted more from access to UK waters than vice versa.
Conservative shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois said last month that UK defence access being blocked by a fishing row was an “absurd” prospect.
He said: “Under Boris Johnson’s 2020 Trade and Cooperation 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,” he said. “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 debate over fishing rights to result in UK defence companies being barred from a fund designed to strengthen our defences and support the brave Ukrainians.”
