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Brexit: UK offers cash-for-quotas fishing deal to tempt Europe

The proposals would allow the EU to keep about two thirds of the value of the stocks that European boats catch in British waters
The proposals would allow the EU to keep about two thirds of the value of the stocks that European boats catch in British waters
ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP VIA GETTY

Britain has tabled a compromise on fishing that could break a deadlock over compensation if quotas for Europe’s fleet are severely cut in future.

The proposals are thought to offer more protection for existing fish quotas and offer a compensation mechanism for reductions after a phased transition.

Fishing is blocking the talks with nine days before the end of the transition period. The new offer is a significant concession to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator. The proposals would allow the European Union to keep about two thirds of the value of fish, worth €650 million, that European boats now catch in British waters with a transition period, thought to be five years, to cushion the change. Britain’s starting offer was 40 per cent, with