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| The Guilvinec is the premiere landing port of artisanal fishing in France. |
Still no agreement found on Brexit. The "no deal" scenario is worrying. On Thursday 17 January, Edouard Philippe announced the launch of a "plan" to deal with the possibility of a sudden exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. An announcement that resonates in Brittany.
"Our responsibility is to ensure that our country is ready and safeguard the interests of our citizens" , says Edouard Philippe. To prepare the "no deal" scenario when the United Kingdom leaves Europe, the Prime Minister sets up a "plan" .
Prepared since April 2018, it "includes legislative measures and legal measures aimed at ensuring that there is no interruption of rights and that the rights of our fellow citizens or our businesses are effectively protected" , said the head of government, Thursday, January 17.
The hypothesis of a Brexit without agreement is less and less improbable. Our responsibility is to ensure that our country is ready and to protect the interests of our fellow citizens: I decided to trigger the #Brexit plan without an agreement since April 2018.
Jobs in danger
The lack of agreement darkens the horizon of Breton ports. Nearly half of the catches of fleets come from British waters. Except that a hard Brexit would close the access of British waters to European and therefore Breton fishermen.
In Brittany, 150 crews are likely to find themselves in great difficulty. "Thousands of jobs will be impacted," warns Olivier Le Nezet, representative of the Regional Committee for Sea Fisheries and Marine Livestock (CRPMEM) of Brittany .
On 10 January, the European Parliament's Transport Committee drew up a new route for the maritime corridors in order to establish direct links between the Irish coasts and the European continent if Brexit is successful. Saint-Malo, Roscoff and Brest have found place in the device.
Édouard Philippe announced " a plan of about 50 million euros investment in French ports and airports " , or "the places most concerned by the changes to be made ".
Brexit: Breton ports integrated into the new route of maritime corridors (Use Google translate to read this article)
Resources at risk
A plan to accompany the fishing sector, which is "most likely to be hit hard by this exit without agreement" , is also under consideration. Indeed, the "no deal" would force the boats and quotas to refer to other sectors, West Britain and Golf de Gascogne.
"If all the boats that work in the British zone come to work in our areas, we will all bring the same fish for a period, so the prices will fall and the resources will be depleted " , worries Gwenael Le Floch, boss of the Damocles .
The UK is not immune
France is the largest importer of British seafood products. The United Kingdom would also have a lot to lose if the negotiations go wrong.
After the National Assembly, the Senate must finally adopt Thursday the draft law preparing France to any form that would take the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, including a Brexit "hard". "Five ordinances will be presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday and published in the next three weeks , " added Philippe.
Report Aurélie Janssens, Lionel Bonis, Gwenaël Hamon and Raphaëlle Besançon.
Posted on 17/01/2019 at 19:08
Translated by Google from the original article in French from France3.