Quote:
Originally Posted by Sephiroth
My reading is that the UK side made one concession; our share of the catch reduced from the 80% we demanded to 25%, with an agreement period of 5½ years instead of the 18 the EU originally demanded.
Nothing else was conceded. The Agreement has been constructed, however to ensure that neither side can dictate to the other and that any abrogation by either side will be equally treated by way of arbitration.
A bit of a pity, though, that I won't be seeing the French off with my gunboats!
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Also, the reduction only applies to the transition period. Once that’s finished we can cut the EU quota to zero if we wish. The treaty stipulates that compensation may be due if we do this; frankly that’s fair enough. The EU trawlermen have built livelihoods in good faith and I see no reason to see them shafted the way ours were in the 1970s. In reality, there’s unlikely ever to be a huge amount of pressure from our domestic fleet for a dramatic increase in quota. There isn’t the hardware or manpower to take advantage of a rapid change. Things could change in time though.