Latest news with #CommonsFisheriesPolicy
Irish Examiner
19-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
'Rock-bottom' fishermen urge government to renegotiate Common Fisheries Policy in wake of EU-UK reset deal
The Government has been urged to begin renegotiating the Commons Fisheries Policy (CFP) in the wake of EU agreement with the UK on a reset trade deal. British prime minister Keir Starmer met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa at a summit in Lancaster House, London, yesterday to seal the deal, which covers areas including trade, education, energy, security, and defence partnerships. The deal will see a 12-year extension of fishing arrangements when the current deal ends, allowing European vessels to operate in UK waters under the same terms until 2038. "We are turning a page. We are opening a new chapter in our unique relationship,' Ms von der Leyen said. However the chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers' Organisation, Patrick Murphy warned that without changes to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, the deal 'doesn't bode well for the future of Ireland's fishing industry'. Mr Murphy said that Irish fishermen sacrificed 40% of fishing opportunities to the UK as part of the original Brexit deal. 'This devastated our fleet to the tune of 25% of our income in key stocks in mackerel and nephrops (Dublin Bay prawns). The solution we were offered was to scrap a quarter of our fleet in response, and the fishing rights went with the boats. We have gone from 400 vessels to 140 in the past two decades and are struggling to survive, with no new entrants coming into the industry. "Our prediction is if there is no rebalancing of the overpayment that Ireland made, we could see our fleet further reduced. The only benefit we see in this deal is there are 12 years of stability - once we reach rock bottom, it can't get worse.' Mr Murphy said the Common Fisheries Policy, first set up 50 years ago, is no longer fit for purpose, leaving the industry 'frozen', while some traditional fish stocks are reducing due to climate change, with no alternatives being made available. He said minister of state at the department of agriculture, food and the marine with special responsibility for fisheries, Timmy Dooley, has engaged positively with sector representatives and urged Government to now push Europe to renegotiate to save the industry in Ireland. Fisheries cover just one element of the deal signed in London on Monday. Other measures covered in the UK-EU deal include: - An open-ended new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement to slash red tape on food and drink exports and imports between the UK and EU. - Some routine checks on plant and animal products will be removed completely. - Linking UK and EU emissions-trading schemes which will mean British firms will not be hit by Brussels' carbon tax next year. - A security and defence partnership will pave the way for UK arms firms to bid for work under the EU's proposed new €178bn security action for Europe (Safe) fund. - The UK and EU have agreed to co-operate on a "youth experience scheme", while there is also a commitment to work towards the UK associating with the Erasmus+ student exchange programme. - British steel exports will be protected from new EU rules and restrictive tariffs. The deal requires "dynamic alignment" - the UK following rules set by Brussels - in areas covering the SPS deal, emissions trading and potential cooperation in the electricity market. Additional reporting by PA
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brexit reset: Who won – Starmer or the EU?
The UK and EU talks went down to the wire, but in the early hours of Monday negotiators managed to strike a deal. Sir Keir Starmer will be keen to promote the wins of the agreement, including trade and easier travel rules for British holidaymakers to the European Union. But Britain has also had to make significant concessions, particularly on fishing rights, that are likely to prompt anger from Brexit supporters. Here, The Telegraph looks at where the Prime Minister won, and lost, in his EU reset deal. The EU has secured fishing rights in British waters for 12 years, until 2038. The move has been seen as a major concession by Sir Keir to secure other elements of the deal. Prior to Brexit, the Commons Fisheries Policy gave European fishing vessels access to UK waters more than 12 nautical miles from the coast. The Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson reduced the annual quota that could be caught by EU fishermen by 25 per cent, but set a cut-off date for that arrangement in 2026. Sir Keir has now agreed to extend the quota of 75 per cent of pre-Brexit fishing rights until 2038. It has been dubbed a 'fish for food' deal, as the concession was made in return for an agreement to boost trade. The UK Government has argued that it is a practical step as it removes the politics from annual negotiations and allows both sides to concentrate on other, more important areas. In return for the granting of access to British waters for much longer than was expected, the UK has managed to secure a veterinary agreement to boost trade. The Swiss style-deal that removes border checks and red tape on agri-food will be permanent. But it does mean Britain has agreed to align with EU plant and animal health laws and will therefore be subject to European Court of Justice decisions over them. The acceptance of 'dynamic alignment' will be highly controversial, with Brexiteers saying it is again allowing the EU to make British laws, subjecting the UK to the jurisdiction of a foreign court. Monday's deal does not contain a youth mobility scheme, but does set out an intention to 'work towards' devising a 'balanced youth experience scheme' for the UK and EU. The documents say that a future scheme should allow young people to work, study, volunteer and travel for a 'limited period of time' with a 'dedicated visa pathway'. It also says that the overall number of participants should be capped at a level 'acceptable to both sides'. Britain has also effectively promised to join the EU's Erasmus+ student exchange programme, which allows students from participating nations to do placements at higher education institutions in other countries. Britain will have access to the EU's Security Action for Europe (Safe) fund, which will raise at least €150 billion (£126 billion) through the EU's budget to buy weapons from manufacturers in participating countries. British firms such as BAE Systems will be able to bid for contracts from the fund, which will be a boost for the sector and create jobs. Britain will also be able to jointly procure military equipment with the EU, which in theory will make it cheaper. The wording of the agreement also suggests the EU will consider joining a Rachel Reeves-backed defence investment bank. But the arrangement will mean that UK troops are likely to be deployed on EU military missions, if Britain's position on any mission is aligned with Brussels. This is underpinned by the fact that the EU and UK are working in a similar way in Ukraine, and share the same visions for the Western Balkans and multilateralism. The UK will now have access to EU databases of third country nationals' fingerprints, DNA and criminal records. There will also be facial recognition sharing. This will be seen as a sizeable win for the Home Office, which is then better able to profile illegal migrants and can also use the data for extradition. There will also be greater co-operation between the UK and Europol on migration, helping to crack down on people-smuggling. Observers have said that this area is a surprising win for Britain, and comes at a time when the Government is seeking to show that it is committed to bringing down net migration. Britain has agreed to dynamically align with the EU's rules for electricity trading, paving the way for a deal that will make it easier to buy and sell electricity. It will also aid joint renewables projects in the North Sea. The EU has said that this will make bills cheaper, but it will again mean accepting the bloc's regulations. The agreement, leaked to The Telegraph, says: 'The European Commission and the United Kingdom should explore in detail the necessary parameters for the United Kingdom's possible participation in the European Union's internal electricity market, including participation in the European Union's trading platforms in all timeframes.' The UK will align with EU rules to hit net zero by rejoining the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). This would mean rejoining the ETS carbon market and changing British rules to match EU laws, before then having to accept further decisions from the European Court of Justice. It would also mean the UK would be under pressure to stay in lockstep with Brussels on policy around achieving net zero. Critics have claimed the move would push up the cost of producing electricity from gas-fired power plants – the UK's second-largest source of power – and ultimately add to the costs faced by British industry and increase household bills. But the ETS system is very new, so it remains to be seen how it would work for Britain and the rest of the bloc. British passport holders will be able to use EU e-gates, which means holidaymakers will no longer need to wait in longer queues to get their passport stamped at border control. In the majority of EU countries, only EU travellers and members of the European Economic Area are allowed to use the e-gates. This was one of the elements of the deal championed by Labour figures as a big win for voters. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starmer surrenders EU access to British fishing waters for 12 years
Sir Keir Starmer has given European fishermen access to British waters for 12 years to land his Brexit reset deal. British and European negotiators have reached a 'fish for food' deal granting EU fishermen rights until 2038 in return for an agreement to boost trade. The two sides have also struck deals on a defence pact and youth mobility, while Britain has agreed to align with EU plant and animal health laws and to be subject to European Court of Justice decisions over them. In a win for British travellers, the EU will also allow UK passport-holders to use e-gates at European airports, which will ease queues. The Telegraph has obtained a leaked copy of the full deal between the EU and Britain. The agreement, struck in the early hours of Monday morning, will be signed off by the ambassadors of the bloc's 27 member states in Brussels before a UK-EU summit in London. Fishing has become a totemic issue between Britain and the EU since the 2016 referendum. Prior to Brexit, the Commons Fisheries Policy gave European fishing vessels access to UK waters more than 12 nautical miles from the coast. Boris Johnson's Brexit deal reduced the annual quota that could be caught by EU fishermen by 25 per cent, but set a cut-off date for that arrangement in 2026. Sir Keir has now agreed to extend the quota of 75 per cent of pre-Brexit fishing rights until 2038, in an unprecedented concession to the EU. 'We note the political agreements leading to full reciprocal access to waters to fish until 30 June 2038 and extending energy cooperation on a continuous basis,' the leaked version of the deal says. In return, the EU has agreed that the Swiss-style agreement that Britain requested on food and veterinary standards will not be time-limited. It means the UK will be subject to 'dynamic alignment' with EU standards on food, which will ease customs checks. Ministers also argue that the deal will bring down the price of food and increase UK exports to the European continent. However, it also means that the UK has agreed to become an EU 'rule-taker', in a significant reversal of the Brexit process, which removed the role of Brussels in setting food standards and extracted the UK from the jurisdiction of the ECJ. Sir Keir's team asked that the arrangement on food and veterinary standards is not time-limited, which means Britain will not be required to renegotiate market access in future. But EU negotiators said that in order to secure an unlimited time period on food, the UK should extend the length of the fishing rights deal from four years to 12 years. Labour's decision to concede that point was met with fury on Monday, amid claims it will kill off the economy of coastal communities. The veterinary deal will make it easier to export British fish to its major market the EU. And the UK's fishing industry exports most of what it catches. Although fishing represents a tiny proportion of the UK economy, a concession over rights to British waters presents a political challenge to the Labour Government. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, told The Telegraph that it would be 'the end of the industry with no new investment', and described Britain as 'an island without a fishing industry'. Some of the fishing towns most affected by the deal are also marginal constituencies between Labour and Reform. In 2024, Mr Farage's party finished second in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, and won the mayoralty of Greater Lincolnshire earlier this month. Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, said the deal was 'far worse than we anticipated' and argued that 'Labour have taken the view that our UK fishing industry can be sacrificed'. Monday's deal is expected to include a range of new partnerships with the EU, dubbed Labour's Brexit 'reset'. It will include a new defence and security pact under which Britain and the bloc will cooperate to rearm against Russia, in the wake of the US's plans to withdraw forces from Europe. A defence deal will mean British firms can win contracts from the European Commission's new €150 billion (£126 billion) Security Action For Europe (Safe) fund, which will be used to bolster the military strength of member states. Sir Keir and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, will also announce plans for a youth mobility scheme to allow under-30s to travel between the UK and EU for work and study more easily. The final arrangements for the scheme have not yet been negotiated, but ministers insist it will be capped and time-limited, and will not see Britain return to free movement with the EU. However, that plan has already been met with backlash from some Labour MPs, who say it will undermine Sir Keir's pledge to 'significantly' reduce net migration. Other elements of the deal include a promise to align carbon trading and electricity markets, cooperation between anti-drug agencies. There is also further law enforcement collaboration on fingerprint databases – which will give British investigators access to non-EU biometric data held by the bloc. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
