Two British naval vessels are sent to Jersey after France threatened to cut off power to the island. The background is a dispute over fishing rights after Brexit.
HMS Tamar is one of the naval vessels that the British are now sending to Jersey. The British Isles is close to the coast of France. Foto: POPHOT DES WADE / FRPU (E) Royal Navy
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The autonomous British island of Jersey is located just off the northwest coast of France in the English Channel.
There, two patrol boats from the navy will “monitor the situation”. This comes after the French Minister of the Law of the Sea Annick Girardin on Wednesday threatened retaliation after the United Kingdom introduced new fishing rules.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Jersey’s Prime Minister John Le Fondre and Foreign Minister Ian Gorst and promised full support for the island. They criticized France for exaggerated threats.
Both France and the United Kingdom are members of the NATO defense alliance.
– Completely unacceptable
The new British rules place restrictions on French fishermen who want to operate near the islands in the English Channel.
“This is completely unacceptable,” Girardin told the French National Assembly on Tuesday.
She assured that the French government is ready to retaliate against the British rule changes. The situation could have consequences for the power cables from France to the autonomous British Isles, according to Girardin.
Jersey is located in the southern part of the English Channel, about 25 kilometers from France. 95 percent of the island’s electricity comes from France through three cables, according to the BBC.
The wake of Brexit
—-The Port of St Martin, Jersey. The island is known for tourism and for its long-standing status as a tax haven. Foto: Matt Dunham / AP
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France believes that any new British rules must be announced to the European Commission in line with the Brexit agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU.
That should not have happened. Before the weekend, the British introduced new rules related to licenses for fishermen who are allowed to operate outside the Channel Islands. In practice, restrictions are placed on where the fishing vessels can stay and what kind of equipment can be used.
Fisheries were one of the most difficult topics in the negotiations on the Brexit agreement. In the Franco-British fishing dispute, the temperature has gradually risen in recent weeks.
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