European Headlines Britain and Europe have finally finished talking. Artificial intelligence algorithms tell you that “fish” is not simple.
Britain and Europe have finally reached a trade agreement!” Fisheries, as one of the three major issues, stuck in the negotiations until the last minute.
To what extent is the fisheries negotiations detailed? It is understood that the two sides are talking about more than 300 kinds of fish in British waters one by one. How many seas can Britain capture in the sea, how many more years can the European Union catch, and how many more shares…
As a minor point, fishing accounts for only 0.04% of the UK’s economic output (2019 data), only 1% of the British automobile industry and 0.57% of the financial services industry. Why is it that it makes the United Kingdom deadlocked against the EU?
(Electric electricity) refers to (brain) one (dry) calculation (fish) is not simple
Using machine learning algorithms, our team analyzed hundreds of British newspaper articles in the week of the Brexit referendum in 2016, and studied what the keywords of Brexit and Remain were. The algorithm identified 143 words from hundreds of thousands of words, including 61 Brexit keywords and 82 Remain keywords.
Among the 61 strongest Brexit words, the word “fishery”, which means that it has a strong Brexit tendency.
Fisheries is a matter of sovereignty for Britain.
Britain’s maritime boundaries are so wide that it accounts for almost half of the total waters of the European Union. But before Brexit, Britain had to obey EU regulations and designated most of the sea areas as common fishing grounds of the European Union.
As a result, more than half of the British waters are foreign fishing vessels, and British fishermen have to be under the control of the European Union in terms of fishing volume, share, operation mode and other aspects.
Since joining the European Union, British fishermen have witnessed the decline of the industry first-hand. In June 1978, there were about 20,000 fishermen in Britain. By this year, there were only 8,000 official fishing employees in the UK (excluding individual fishermen).
Michael Gove, the British cabinet minister now in charge of negotiations with the European Union, claimed that the EU’s common fisheries policy destroyed his father’s fishing business in Aberdeen (a northern British city).
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So on British fishing boats, you can often see such a flag, “Fishing supports Brexit and saves British fisheries”.
“Whose sea is this? Whose fish?
“We should break free from the shackles of the EU and liberate Britain from the EU!”
Indeed, the algorithm also recognizes that “shackles” is a typical Brexit word, with a tendency value of up to 87%.” The word “liberation” is as high as 86%.
Therefore, behind “fishery” are the words “freedom, shackles”.
They are not only about interests, but also a kind of magnificent blood of “I am not left to the European Union” and the emotion of eager to fight.
How to comfort this mood?
To put it bluntly, fishing is no longer just a matter of interests of an industry, but also a matter of sovereignty.
△Slogan “You once promised to regain your autonomy in the fishing industry, but now you have betrayed us again.”
The fishing industry is difficult to talk about, because the Johnson administration is difficult to move. As the slogan above says, you can’t betray Brexit. With the lesson of Theresa May’s past, isn’t she sadly stepping down precisely because the Brexitists think she “betrayed Brexit”?
But in the eyes of the EU, fishing is a matter of interest.
Britain must continue to open up the sea, otherwise it will affect the livelihoods of many people.
Although it also means pressure on voters, it is ultimately a deal for the EU, not the kind of sovereignty issue that requires flag-wielding.
Brexits look at the fishing industry, 2 blind spots
Blind spot 1:
The fishing industry has been advocated by Brexit politicians for decades and is regarded as a typical example of the “inequality of losing power and humiliating the country” of Britain’s accession to the European Union.
However, for many years, the British government has made it clear that it cannot only count the profits and losses of fisheries alone the general ledger.
For example, the UK’s largest market for exporting financial services is the European Union, with one third of the profits earned from the European Union. The financial industry contributed £126 billion to the UK economy in 2019, while the fishing industry was only £437 million.
May I ask how big the small fishery can suffer from?
Before the Brexit referendum, Boris Johnson promised to regain “comprehensive control of British waters” on many occasions. But one thing he didn’t mention is, when Britain gets the fish back, who will it sell it to?
Three-quarters of Britain’s catch is for export, most of which is sold to the European Union. British fishermen have benefited greatly from the EU’s single market zero tariffs and simplified customs clearance.
Once there is no agreement to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom will lose various preferences and will inevitably lose to the EU market.
Did the fish get it back, and then?
It feels strange. Doesn’t it smell good when you produce and sell it yourself?
Look at the basic fact:
Three-quarters of British seafood exports, most of which go to the European Union; two-thirds of consumption comes from imports, and 30% come from the European Union.
Why doesn’t Britain eat the fish it catches, but buy European Union fish to eat?
“Because the fish opposite is my favorite food.”
This is not funny, it is true.
Most Europeans like to eat flounder and crustacean seafood, but the British do not like it so much.
In 2019, the UK exported the largest number of fisheries to the European Union, namely salmon, seaweed and scallops, totaling 452,000 tons, accounting for about 2 billion British pounds.
The vast majority of fish and chips commonly eaten by the British are caught by European fishermen in the north, which is imported from the European Union, with a total of 712,000 tons, worth 3.4 billion pounds.
So this is a complex business with its own in and outgoing.
How can “fishery Brexit” be as simple as it thought at that time and cut it off?
On the afternoon of December 24th, local time, British Prime Minister Johnson held a press conference, saying that he had fulfilled his promise of the 2016 referendum and regained British control, especially naming the control of the fishing industry.
But EU sources said the UK made “a huge concession” at the last minute of the negotiations – EU fishermen will continue to enter British waters for fishing according to the current access standards for five and a half years starting in 2021, but the quota will be gradually reduced by 25%.
The previous offer of the United Kingdom was to reduce it by 60% within three years.
Nicholas Turgeon, Chief Minister of Scottish Self-Government, called the result a “bad agreement” and “the British government has broken its important commitments in fisheries”.
It is Scottish fishermen who are most affected by the fisheries negotiations.
Scotland may reintroit the referendum on independence next year, and the concession in fisheries may have the consequences of Scottish fishermen defection.
Another dispute in Northern Ireland is only a suspended settlement. With the “recenant” of Brexit, after December 31, 2020, Britain will bid farewell to 47 years of EU membership and enter the unknown.
However, after years of cruel negotiations, it failed to truly fulfill the promise of that year.
