UK to Issue Fishing Licenses to 25 More European Ships

LONDON (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom will grant fishing licenses to 25 more European vessels following talks between UK Environment Secretary George Eustice and EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said Saturday.

"Last night, following receipt of new evidence from the Commission, the UK licensed 18 replacement vessels on the basis of this methodology. Further technical work on 7 more licences for direct replacement vessels is scheduled to conclude on Monday," a UK government spokesperson said, as quoted by the official website.

When considering licenses for replacement ships, the UK used the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the agency added.

The Channel Island of Jersey also announced that it can issue five more permanent licenses to the vessels holding temporary permissions for fishing in its waters. In this case, the total number of licenses issued by the island will reach 130.

"This now concludes this phase of intensive talks on licensing," the DEFRA said.

French Secretary of State Clement Beaune said on Friday that London should issue 100 more licenses for French fishermen, in addition to those 40 that the UK issued last week.

France and the UK are holding negotiations on settling the tensions raised by issuing fishing licenses, and Paris accuses London of breaking the Brexit contract.