Snakey fish fight is center stage as U.K.’s new environmental measures rub the EU the wrong way.

When the U.K. left the EU, Brussels insisted on strict “level playing-field” rules as a check on Tories turning their country into a deregulated offshore tax haven.

But fast-forward to 2024 and it’s tougher new U.K. environmental measures that are increasingly rubbing the EU up the wrong way — at least when it comes to protecting sea-life.

In March, irate French ministers asked the European Commission to investigate whether a ban on “bottom trawling” in protected marine areas — brought in on conservation grounds — breached the terms of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the two countries.

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    6 months ago

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    In March, irate French ministers asked the European Commission to investigate whether a ban on “bottom trawling” in protected marine areas — brought in on conservation grounds — breached the terms of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the two countries.

    “Healthy sand-eel stocks are not just vital for the delicate balance of our marine ecosystems, but also for the livelihoods of our fishers,” he argued, noting that other measures are already in place to protect the species, such as low catch quotas and closed areas.

    She noted that 62 percent of seabird species were in decline across the U.K., adding: “While some EU countries seem hell-bent on hoovering up sand-eels on an industrial scale to feed to livestock, we believe they should be restoring marine ecosystems and nourishing baby Pufflings.”

    “We are able to take these steps because of our exit from the EU, using our Brexit freedoms to make space for nature to recover across our marine habitats," one Conservative official granted anonymity to discuss the ongoing dispute said.

    Despite having “taken back control” the U.K.'s rivers, city air, and drafty housing stock are in a sorry state, with embarrassingly little action on plastic pollution, “forever chemicals”, and replacing the Common Agricultural Policy, he says.

    “The government’s enthusiasm for fixing any of these problems appears to have been substantially weakened by removing the EU’s institutions from the discussion but retaining all of the corporate lobbyists, as the gap between European and British standards gradually widens.”


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