– This is going in the right direction. We have a common desire to resolve a set of outstanding questions related to fisheries negotiations. We are not at the goal, but we have come closer during the day, says Eide to NTB.
He made the trip to Brussels on Friday for a so-called high dialogue meeting with the European Commission’s vice-president Maros Sefcovic to resolve the fish tangles.
Inflamed argument
Arguments about fish and fishing quotas have long soured relations between Norway and the EU – and after Brexit it has only gotten worse.
In short, the EU demands larger quotas from Norway than Norway is willing to give. The matter has now been raised to the highest level in the EU.
The meeting between Eide and Sefcovic – who is also the EU’s EEA General – is the second in a row. The dialogue came about after Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) raised the matter with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
The purpose of the dialogue is to find a mutual understanding of what constitutes a fair distribution of fishing quotas.
While the EU demands that more cod be fished in Norwegian waters, Norway demands, among other things, that EU fishermen report all fish that are actually caught. It is not done today.
Fierce tone
Eide and Sefcovic are not directly involved in the complicated fishing negotiations that start at the end of October. They go along at least three tracks, with different waters, fish species and countries involved.
But the two can agree on the framework for the negotiations and send messages down the system.
Today there is a rather heated tone between the parties. The EU side accuses Norway of being greedy and arrogant, while the Norwegian side believes that the EU is using its meat weight to carve out resources to which it is not entitled.
Norwegian takeover
The fisheries negotiations between Norway and the EU have been very demanding for years, especially after the United Kingdom left the union in 2020.
Then the EU also lost waters that have traditionally been used for quota swaps with Norway, especially when it comes to cod.
The waters the EU has left are of little interest to Norwegian fishermen. Ergo, the EU has nothing to trade with, is an argument Norway uses.
This has given Norway a kind of upper hand in the negotiations, which has caused great dissatisfaction in the EU. In June, all EU countries supported a statement stating that the EU “regrets (deplores) the lack of cooperation from Norway”.
Threatening with customs
This year, for the first time since 1994, the EU has linked access to fishing quotas with market access for Norwegian seafood to the Union.
About 60 percent of Norwegian seafood exports go to the EU.
At the end of September, it also became known that the EU has dusted off a regulation from 2012 which states that countries that “practice non-sustainable fishing of stocks of common interest may face EU sanctions, including import bans”.
In this context, sanctions often mean higher customs duties.
Not on target
– Now we try to see this as a whole. I feel that there is a very good tone in these conversations, but we are not on target, says Eide.
– It would be good if we were able to solve it relatively quickly. Because this will be important for many other issues that Norway and the EU are concerned with.
– Will Norway take care to ensure that the conflict does not spill over into other areas where we have an interest in cooperation with the EU?
– We are trying to find a solution, and both parties must contribute to that, states the foreign minister.
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