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Brexit talks stalled yet again as yet another deadline approaches

Monday, 07 December 2020 11:27 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 07 December 2020 11:27 PM ]

Bianca Rahimi
Press TV, London

For Brexit supporters and many coastal communities this deal symbolizes regaining sovereignty in an age-old dispute over fishing rights. The UK says "British fishing grounds are first and foremost for British boats" but the EU wants things to stay relatively the same with access for its boats and no tariffs or taxes on goods crossing borders.

The EU’s bargaining chip is special access to the EU single market, which the UK want’s to hold on to as 60 percent of the fish it’s boats catch is sold to the bloc. The EU says something’s gotta give though. Insisting Britain cannot have priority access to its own fisheries and the EU market.

Wars have almost been waged over these fishing waters. Britain and Iceland clashed over Cod between the 1950s and 1970, with the Royal Navy deploying 37 warships to protect British interests.

The Scallop wars in 2018 that saw French and British trawlermen come to blows in the English Channel, threatened an uneasy truce reached in 2012 when the UK agreed to keep larger boats away from French waters in exchange for additional access rights.

Since Britain formally left the EU on Jan. 31, negotiators have missed a series of deadlines to reach a deal with the world's largest trading bloc before the transition period ends on Dec. 31. And although the UK hopes these really are the last few days before a deal they are not ruling out an extension.

If a satisfactory deal is not reached, it could cause huge long-term disruptions for the British economy- already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also mean bilateral trade falling back on World Trade Organization rules in 2021. A scenario that conflicts drastically with Brexit’s purported goal of “taking back control” and endorsing sovereign decision making.

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