The United Kingdom on Wednesday concluded a fisheries agreement with Norway, its first one in as a sovereign state in four decades, the government announced
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2020) The United Kingdom on Wednesday concluded a fisheries agreement with Norway, its first one in as a sovereign state in four decades, the government announced.
The deal, titled the Fisheries Framework Agreement, was signed earlier in the day by Environment Secretary George Eustice and Norwegian Fisheries Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen.
"The UK has today signed an historic fisheries agreement with Norway - the UK's first since leaving the EU and first as an independent coastal state in 40 years," the government said in a statement.
The agreement stipulates annual talks between Norway and the UK on the matters of access to waters and quotas.
"The agreement is testament to our commitment to acting as a cooperative independent coastal state, seeking to ensure a sustainable and a prosperous future for the whole of the UK fishing industry," Eustice said.
The UK officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, and is currently going through a transition period lasting until December 31, 2020. Until then, London and Brussels will be trying to negotiate further arrangements, tackling various several sensitive topics, including trade and fisheries. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made it clear that he intends to negotiate strictly within the set period, even if it means leaving the EU without an agreement.
The issue of fisheries is important for Norway as well, so much so it is said to have consistently undermined efforts to bring country into the bloc as it would have adhere to EU fishing quotas.
