28 Dec 2020
Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO), says Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is “a defeat”, with the Tory accused of having “bottled it” on fishing and “sacrificed” the country’s long-suffering fishermen.
“When push came to shove, despite the legal, moral and political strength of our case, fishing was sacrificed,” Deas lamented in a St Stephen’s Day interview reacting to news that Johnson’s deal included a further five-and-a-half year “transition” for EU trawlers on top of the almost four years they have already had since the 2016 vote to leave the EU to plunder British fisheries, with promises of full sovereignty after this period looking increasingly shaky.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has rejected claims that Britain’s fishermen will be worse off as a result of the post-Brexit trade deal struck with the EU.
Fishermen’s leaders have accused Boris Johnson of betraying the industry over the compromise struck with Brussels over future fishing rights in UK waters.
However, Mr Gove insisted they would get a greater share of the fish in UK waters and that could increase over time.
“I think it is fair to say that we are in a stronger position than we were in the EU and in the common fisheries policy,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
EUROPEAN Union ambassadors have provisionally approved Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal, allowing its implementation from January 1.
A spokesman for the bloc’s German presidency said today that the ambassadors had unanimously agreed to “green-light” the settlement reached on Christmas Eve.
Their decision paves the way for the agreement, which allows for continued tariff-free trade with the EU single market, to take effect when the Brexit transition period expires on Thursday night.
In this country, Parliament is preparing to vote on the deal in a special sitting called for Wednesday.
The agreement is likely to pass through both houses, with Labour ordering its MPs to vote for the “thin” treaty after party leader Sir Keir Starmer said that the only other option was a chaotic departure without a trade deal.
The EU Approve The Final Touches of a Post-Brexit Trade Deal Published December 28th, 2020 - 12:30 GMT
This file photograph taken on December 10, 2020, shows the flags of the United Kingdom and the European Union next to the Brexit word in Brussels. The 27 EU member states gave the green light on December 28, 2020, for the post-Brexit trade deal to go into effect on January 1,2021, a spokesman said. Ambassadors from EU capitals met in Brussels to nod through the accord, using a procedure which will take effect at 3:00 pm (1400 GMT) on December 29. Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
Highlights
However, the Labour leader is facing a rebellion over the instruction with a handful of shadow ministers reportedly considering quitting.