London, UK (CWBN)_ British and EU boats may be prevented from fishing in Norwegian waters following January 1 as discussions on a new agreement have been held up by the Brexit stalemate.
The Norway usually enters into an annualised agreement with the EU on the management of common fish stocks, access to each other’s waters and interchange of fish quotas. Following Brexit, a trilateral arrangement has to be reached among Norway, the EU and Britain regarding North Sea fishing. .
These discussions have not yet started. The Norway, not part of the EU, but a part of the European single market, is, now, threatening to block access.
‘If we do not get a deal by Jan. 1, we will not open Norway’s economic fishing zones to vessels from the EU and Britain,’ fisheries minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen told the Norwegian parliament.
‘Neither can we expect Norwegian vessels to get access to their (the EU’s and Britain’s) zones before a deal is in place.’ Negotiations over a deal have been delayed because London and Brussels have not reached an accord governing their relations from the start of 2021, he said.
Fishing is one of the contentious issues in the discussions between the UK and EU. ‘Norway is ready to start talks so that we can agree on total quotas for our common stocks in the North Sea. Our goal is to continue as normal, but for that we need clarity, quickly,’ Mr Ingebrigtsen later said in a statement.
In last September, Norway and Britain agreed a so-called ‘framework’ accord on the future relations on fishing, which was hailed at the time as a milestone.
However, before any bilateral agreements could reached, Oslo wants a trilateral deal in place, and Mr Ingebrigtsen said the EU has been slow to engage in the talks. ‘We’ve been telling the EU for a long time that we needed a three-way deal, and the ball is therefore now in the EU’s court,’. Norway’s rich fishing areas entice fishermen from all over Europe and in particular, for Norway’s cod stocks in the Barents Sea.
