Boris Johnson says UK to 'continue to stand behind Jersey' over fishing rights
November 16, 2021, 6:45 am

Boris Johnson says UK to 'continue to stand behind Jersey' over fishing rights

Fishing-boat-Coastline-Pixabay

The BBC reported that the Prime Minister said, the UK will "continue to stand behind Jersey" if France goes through with "unjustified" threats on fishing rights.

France had threatened to stop British boats offloading catches at its ports after seizing a trawler.

Boris Johnson said he hoped the sanctions would be "taken off the table permanently".

In May, about 60 French fishing vessels staged a protest outside the harbour at St Helier, Jersey.

France was angered by a decision from the UK and Jersey in September to deny fishing licences to dozens of French boats as part of a post-Brexit deal.

Fishing net/Pixabay

Talks are ongoing to solve the dispute between Brexit minister Lord Frost and French Europe minister, Clement Beaune, and the EU.

Mr Johnson met Jersey ministers and "underlined the strength of the UK/Jersey relationship and committed to continue working closely together on issues of mutual importance", said a government spokesperson.

They said: "On fishing licences, the prime minister reaffirmed his support for Jersey's approach, which has been reasonable."

"He reiterated that the UK would continue to stand behind Jersey in the event that they were carried through, although he welcomed their deferral and said he hoped that they would be taken off the table permanently.

"Both sides agreed that they would continue to assess new evidence in support of the remaining licence applications and that technical discussions with the EU Commission and France would continue."

Source: BBC

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.