Fishermen select and clean freshly caught fish in Sete, France.
Photographer: Balint Porneczi / Bloomberg
Photographer: Balint Porneczi / Bloomberg
German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner warned of “painful cuts” for the European Union’s fishing industry due to the trade agreement the bloc made with the UK.
Fishing was one of the most contentious issues in the Brexit negotiations concluded on Thursday, and the agreement means that the EU’s share of catches in UK waters will fall by 25% over a period of five and a half years. During that time, reciprocal access rights remain unchanged.
Kloeckner, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said he would like the cuts to be “significantly smaller” while pledging support for the sector.
Read more: Why the UK and the EU are fighting over fish
“It is even more important that the agreement provides for a transition period, with defined quota rules and guaranteed access to fishing grounds,” said Kloeckner in an e-mailed statement.
“This gives at least a certain degree of planning security,” she added. “But it is also clear that we must support fishermen and help them in this difficult situation. Looking at 2026, it will be important to find a long-term solution. “
French Minister for European Affairs, Clement Beaune, said on Friday that the fisheries agreement is “a difficult but acceptable and doable effort”, while saying that the EU should not go beyond the agreed 25%.
“We have ways to apply pressure to ensure – I hope, and we will fight for it – that access will be maintained, ”said Beaune on Europe1 radio. France will support the fishing sector with several tens of millions of euros for as long as necessary, he added.
– With the help of James Regan