BRUSSELS (EFE, AFP). The European Union and the United Kingdom still cannot reach a pact on their relationship after Brexit, in particular, due to the lack of consensus on fisheries.
The negotiator of the Twenty-seven, Michel Barnier, said today that “at this crucial moment for the negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom”, Brussels continues to work “hard” with the British team.
“The EU remains committed to a fair, reciprocal and balanced agreement. We respect the sovereignty of the UK. And we hope the same. Both the EU and the UK should have the right to set their own laws and control their own waters. And we should both be able to act when our interests are at stake, ”he posted on Twitter.
The European Parliament has been warning for weeks that it has the competence to review the trade agreements that the European Union reaches with third countries and insisting that it will need time to scrutinize the texts, which usually have hundreds or even thousands of pages .
Once the text is formally received, the European Parliament must convene a two-day plenary session to announce the receipt of the agreement and its forwarding to the competent committees, so that they can give their green light and return it to the plenary session for their final vote the following day, using all the urgent procedures available to them.
In any case, if a pact is reached before the end of the year, January 1 could be applied provisionally without the consent of the European Parliament, which would validate the agreement as early as 2021.
Beyond the deadlines, the British and Community negotiating teams still do not reach a consensus, especially on the fisheries issue.
The European Fishing Alliance (EUFA), which represents the fleets of EU countries that have traditionally fished in British waters and includes the Spanish Fisheries Confederation (Cepesca), denounced in a statement that the sector is “on the brink of of the abyss ”.
“Despite repeated promises, we are about to be sold with the offer that the European Commission has made to the UK. Even more so when fisheries negotiations with the United Kingdom are expected to start again after only 6 or 7 years ”, he claimed.
