Four Royal Navy patrol ships will be ready on January 1 to help protect Britain’s fishing waters in the event the Brexit transition period ends without a deal on future ties with the European Union, the Ministry of defense (MOD) said.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
There are concerns about possible skirmishes between British and foreign fishing vessels if no trade deal is reached, with existing transitional rules that give EU boats access to British waters set to expire at the end of the year.
“The MOD has conducted extensive planning and preparation to ensure that defense is ready for a range of scenarios at the end of the Transition Period,” an MOD spokesman said.
The 80-meter-long navy vessels will have the power to stop, check and impound all EU fishing boats operating within Britain’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which can extend 200 miles (320 kilometer) from shore.
The Guardian newspaper reported earlier that two vessels will be deployed at sea with two on standby in case EU fishing boats enter the EEZ.
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative Party lawmaker who chairs the UK parliament’s defense select committee, was critical of the development.
“We’re just facing the prospect of... our overstretched Royal Navy squaring up to a close NATO ally over fishing vessel rights,” he told BBC radio.
“Our adversaries must be really enjoying this,” he said.
A French minister said on Thursday that France would compensate its fishermen and take other measures to help them if talks on a trade deal collapse, in an effort to avoid clashes at sea.
Britain quit the EU in January but remains an informal member until December 31 - the end of a transition period during which it has remained in the EU single market and customs union.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday it was now unlikely a trade deal would be agreed.
Read more:
Brexit trade deal: UK demands EU concessions ahead of weekend deadline
No-trade deal Brexit is ‘very, very likely,’ says UK’s Johnson, EU chief
‘Still a chance’ for Brexit deal says Germany’s Merkel ahead of talks
Also Read
-
EU’s McGuinness says Commission preparing no deal Brexit plans
The European Commission is preparing specific and very narrowly focused contingency plans to prepare for the possibility of a no trade deal Brexit, EU ... Economy -
Brexit trade deal: UK demands EU concessions ahead of weekend deadline
Britain on Thursday said talks to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union will not go beyond this weekend unless there is “substantial ... Economy -
No-trade deal Brexit is ‘very, very likely,’ says UK’s Johnson, EU chief
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that it was very likely that trade talks with the European Union would fail and that the United ... Economy
