Two-day negotiations between the European Union and Russia on fishing will be held in Brussels

The first, preliminary, round of negotiations on concluding an agreement on fishing between the European Union and Russia will take place in Brussels on July 24th-25th. The European Commission wants to have such an agreement which would specify the parameters of fishing quotas in the North Sea and in the Baltic Sea. The European Union, as a unified organisation, strives to get certain rights to fishing in the Russian waters.

Russia regards some EU countries as its partners for detailed agreements. However, Brussels believes that this is an outdated approach, because the European Union conducts a common policy in the sphere of fishing which is observed by all members of the EU.

One of the main trends in the negotiations is the use of fish resources in the Baltic Sea. It presents interest in view of the coming entry into the European Union of the Baltic states and Poland which have their own fishing fleets. Apart from that, in the opinion of the Russian side, it is important in principle to reach an agreement on the amount of permissible catch.