Fishermen sort and clean fresh fish in Sete, France.
Photographer: Balint Porneczi / Bloomberg
Photographer: Balint Porneczi / Bloomberg
German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner has warned of “painful cuts” for the European Union’s fishing industry due to the trade agreement the bloc has reached with UK.
Fishing was one of the most controversial issues in the Brexit talks that ended on Thursday, and the agreement means that the EU’s share of UK catches will fall by 25% over a five-and-a-half-year period. During this time, the rights of mutual access remain unchanged.
Kloeckner, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said she wanted the cuts to be “significantly smaller” while promising support for the sector.
Read more: Why the UK and the EU are fighting for fish
“It is all the more important that the agreement provides for a transitional period, with regulations on defined quotas and guaranteed access to fishing areas,” Kloeckner said in an e-mailed statement.
“This provides at least some degree of planning security,” she added. “But it is also clear that we need to support fishermen and give them a helping hand in this difficult situation. Looking to 2026, it will be important to find a long-term solution. “
French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said on Friday that the fisheries agreement was “a difficult but acceptable and achievable effort”, but said the EU should not exceed the agreed 25%.
“We have ways to apply pressure to ensure – I the hopeand we will fight for that – access will be maintained, “Beaune told Europe1 radio. France will support the fisheries sector by tens of millions of euros for as long as necessary, he added.
“With the assistance of James Regan.”