Post-Brexit fishing licenses: Boris Johnson promises to “defend British interests” before meeting – franceinfo

The French President and the British Prime Minister are due to meet on the sidelines of the G20 in Rome, Downing Street announced on Friday, at a time when the subjects of contention accumulate between the two neighbors, on the hot topic of fishing but also on illegal immigration through the Channel or the consequences of Brexit in Northern Ireland.

The French ambassador to the United Kingdom summoned in the evening

Far from subsiding before the summit meeting in Rome, the tension rose further on Friday with the threat from London to implement “rigorous controls” on European ships spawning in its waters, if Paris actually carries out its threats, a British government spokesperson said on Friday. The latter also considers “to launch a dispute settlement procedure” provided for in the post-Brexit trade agreement, which entered into force at the start of the year.

In London, the Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom, Catherine Colonna, was summoned on Friday, an extremely rare step between allied countries. She left without a word after only 20 minutes of interview at the Foreign Office, where Secretary of State Wendy Morton told her. “expressed disappointment at the confrontational tone consistently employed by the French government, which does not make the situation any easier to resolve”, according to the British account.