The European Union will demand access to Britain’s fishing waters in return for Sir Keir Starmer’s reset in UK-EU relations, according to reports.
The Prime Minister said he wants a “better deal” and spoke of resetting the UK’s relationship with Europe at the end of a European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, on Thursday (July 18).
Brussels bureaucrats are reportedly preparing a list of “offensive interests” the bloc will deploy in future talks with London, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The same publication reported that UK Government officials believe access to UK fishing waters will be a key compromise in response to Sir Keir’s wish for closer ties on trade, security, migration and foreign policy.
French President Emmanuel Macron has identified fishing as a key issue in talks with Britain and is eager to secure a better deal with an EU-UK fisheries deal set to expire in June 2026. The UK and France announced on Thursday that the two countries will hold a bilateral summit next year, though it is not known if fisheries will be on the agenda.
Sir Keir was on a charm offensive at the EPC summit, telling European leaders they can have a “renewed confidence” in their relationships with the UK, adding Britain would not be part of the European Union, but “very much part of Europe”.
A Defra spokesperson said: “Food security is national security. That is why the new Government will always back our great British fishing industry.
“We will seek to tear down unnecessary trade barriers that block our fishing exports and boost fishing opportunities for British vessels in our waters.”
Reports the EU would seek access to British fishing waters sparked outrage on social media, with Richard Tice MP, Deputy Leader of Reform UK, tweeting: “NO NO NO. We want our fishing waters back, not giving more away.”
Fellow X-user Emma Rock fumed: “It’s a new feeling of dread waking up every day to see what new nightmare Labour has decided to enact.”
Paul Woodham tweeted: “Fishermen of the United Kingdom be warned – your government is preparing to sell you out. Whatever the wording you will lose and badly.”
A fourth X-user, Sue Chadwick, raised concern the EU would be “desperate” to use bottom trawlers in UK waters, adding: “Allowing that back should cause outrage.”
The last Government introduced a by-law in March protecting an area of almost 4,000 square kilometres of UK seas from damaging bottom towed gear in areas within 13 English offshore marine protected areas including Cape Bank, East of Haig Fras, Farnes East and Goodwin Sands.
Environmental campaign groups have long called for a total ban on bottom trawling, a fishing method which uses towed nets to catch fish and other marine species living on or close to the seabed.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says bottom trawling can damage the ocean floor, kill animals, destroy plants and release carbon, which can enter the Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
It found bottom trawling taking place in 98 percent of Britain’s offshore Marine Protected Areas. All but one of those areas meant to safeguard the seabed experienced bottom trawling and dredging between 2015 and 2018, according to the MCS, which has called for a total ban on the practice in such zones.
