Scottish fishing chief warns Ireland as boat found fishing ‘illegally’ in UK – Daily Express

EU: Bocquet on realignment mechanisms in fishing waters

An Irish-registered vessel was spotted fishing between the six- and 12-mile mile limit at Rockall, according to the Scottish White Fish Producers' Association (SWFPA). While the UK claims the uninhabitable islet is part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Irish disagree.

Mike Park, chief executive of the SWFPA, said the action over the weekend constitutes a breach of international fishing regulations.

He claimed the presence of the Irish boat in the zone amounted to IUU (illegal, unregulated and unreported) fishing.

He stressed that Rockall is not included in the areas which foreign skippers are allowed to fish in under the post-Brexit arangement with the EU.

Mr Park told the Fishing Daily: "We are aware that there are Southern Irish vessels operating within the 12-mile limit at Rockall.

"Clearly this is in breach of the law as well, and they are basically conducting IUU operations in terms of fishing.

With the Brexit negotiations, there were certain areas where the EU vessels were allowed to fish between the six-and 12-mile limit, but Rockall is not one of them.

He said the fishing industry in Scotland does not want to see EU fishermen being fined for breaching law.

He said they should simply respect post-Brexit fishing rules and avoid breaching any parts of the UK-EU deal.

He added: "We dont want to see fishermen falling foul of the law. We dont want them being arrested and we dont want them being fined.

"We just want them to apply the law as it stands.

Mr Park's warning came after a group of Scottish fishing chiefs accused Danish fishermen of ignoring conservation rules and fishing illegally off the Shetland Islands.

It is alleged that up to Danish multi-rig trawlers are using quad-rigs which are banned by the Scottish Government in the Fladen prawn grounds near the isles.

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5.20am update: 'Complicated' Brexit passport rules for Europe travel - 'for goodness sake'

Simon Calder the travel expert appeared on ITV's This Morning today to give a grave warning about travel to Europe and passports after Brexit.

Travel after Brexit is about to get much more complicated once European holidays are back on the cards for Britains.This summer Europe is expected to open up for UK holidaymakers once more.

Simon Calder warned all those planning to travel to check their passports and, most importantly, when those passports expired.

Speaking to presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Simon said: "Since Brexit, since the transition period ended, it gets a lot more complicated going into Europe.

"The Government has an online passport checker system so if you are thinking of going abroad then for goodness sake don't fall at the first hurdle and find that you haven't got your passports in order."

4.21am update:UK orders EU to 'stop bickering' - end vaccine row NOW

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The claim was made by Kate Bingham who headed the highly successful UK Vaccine Taskforce tasked with obtaining jabs for Britain.

The EU is demanding AstraZeneca increase vaccine supply to the bloc whilst some leaders, such as Frances Emmanuel Macron, have raised false doubts about its effectiveness.

Speaking to the Financial Times Ms Bingham said: The bickering just layers uncertainty in peoples minds, so it needs to stop.

3.48am update: Scottish fishermen raise alarm about EU vessels 'violating rules'

Scottish fishermen have attacked the EU after European fleets have violated conservation rules in UK waters.

A row has broken out between the UK and EU after Danish boats have been accused of ignoring environmental rules to plunder waters.

According to Scottish fishers in the Fladen prawn grounds around the Shetland Islands, Danish trawlers have been found to be plundering the waters despite being banned since 2007. Local fishermen have said the EU fleets have used multi-rig trawlers.

2.05am update:British expat with home in Spain feels 'screwed over' as retirement dreams dashed

A British expat with a home in Spain has said he and his partner have had their retirement dreams shattered and feel they have been "screwed over".

One of the conditions of the new terms for British citizens living in Spain is that to gain residency each individual must have an income of 21,000 a year, or have proof of work.This risks impacting thousands of UK pensioners living inSpain.

British expats living in Spain, who did not secure residency, were deemed illegal immigrants at the end of March 2021.

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As Brussels continues to come under fire from voters and European leaders over the debacle, a new YouGov survey has shown a jump in hindsight for backing Brexit.

The UK's exit from the club of nations has been credited for its roaring success on the vaccine front.

12.11am update: Spain erupts at EU for punishing UK as lorry drivers suffer -'We're hostages'

Spanish lorry drivers are now suffering more under EU bureaucratic controls than their British counterparts, a haulier organisation has claimed.

The Valencian Federation of Road Haulers has hit out at the EU's rigorous controls, especially those imposed in France.

The federation said: "France wants to make emphasis on the fact that the UK has left the EU, and therefore things cannot continue the same."

The organisation stated that after three months of Brexit, lorry drivers from Spain are suffering more with European controls than British controls.

Melanie Kaidan takes over live reporting fromLaura O'Callaghan.

10.22pm update:UK stepped in and secretly shipped 700,000 AstraZeneca jabs to Australia after EU block

More than 7,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccines were secretly flown from Britain to Australia, according to reports, while not a single jab was exported Down Under from the EU.

The huge batches of the shots were despatched after the EU imposed new limits on exports of Covid vaccines produced on the continent.

The bloc continues to grapple with a chronic shortage of vaccines and blighted by slow inoculation programmes.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, 717,000 AstraZeneca jabs arrived in Australia after the operation was conducted under the radar.

9.02pm update:Brexit border chaos: Northern Ireland riots erupt as angry youths hurl petrol bomb into bus

Shocking footage shows a Northern Ireland bus engulfed in flames as youths were seen throwing petrol bombs into the vehicle in broad daylight.

Footage uploaded on social media showed a gang of hooded youths surrounding a bus as one of the protesters throws a petrol bomb through the window.

Police sirens are heard in the background as rioters continue to wreak havoc in Northern Ireland over unresolved border issues from Brexit and a lack of arrests at a large Republican funeral.

The bus was later seen on drone footage as completely engulfed in flames as emergency services cleared the streets.

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Angela Merkel's authority has been pushed aside by the leader of Bavaria who skirted around the German leader and the EU to sign a contract with the Russians for Covid vaccines.

Markus Sder, the state's minister-president, took decisive action as criticism of Brussels' handling of the vaccine rollout continues.

On Wednesday he signed a preliminary contract for the delivery of Sputnik V jabs, which will kick in once the Russian-made shot is approved by the European drug regulator.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is in the process of examining the application for approval of the Sputnik jab.

7.05pm update: Poll shows rise in suport for Brexit

Support for Brexit has risen amid the EU's vaccine crisis, new research has shown.

In a YouGov poll, 46 percent said Britain was right to leave the bloc, a rise of two points compared to a similar survey conducted recently.

The research was carried out from March 31 to April 1 and compared to data collected from March 25-26.

A total of 1,736 British adults took part.

6.36pm update:Angela Merkel crisis: 60,000 sign petition against Chancellor's 'paid politics' culture

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for an end to "paid politics" in Germany, which campaigners say flourished during Angela Merkel's 16 years in office.

As the Chancellor prepares to pass the baton on later this year, her final months look to be some of her most challenging yet amid growing discontent among Germans.

The Youth Council of the Generations Foundation has hit out at Mrs Merkel for allowing a system of political lobbying completely lacking in transparency to fester.

5.43pm update: NI Protocol blasted as 'totally disproportionate'

Northern Ireland's First Minister has called for the current post-Brexit trading arrangements to be replaced with something "realistic and sustainable".

Arlene Foster said the Northern Ireland Protocol has led to a "completely disproportionate situation" where trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been "severely disrupted".

EU rules are applied at the region's ports as part of the deal which was negotiated to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland as the Republic remains within the bloc.

A number of legal challenges are being launched against the protocol.

Speaking at an In Conversation online event with Institute of Economic Affairs director general Mark Littlewood on Wednesday, Mrs Foster said the DUP warned about the impact of the protocol "right from its inception".

4.55pm update:'Change to 180!' British expat slams Spain as he demands change to post-Brexit stay rules

A British expat has slammed Spain's failure to extend residency to residents now faced with having to return to the UK amid a post-Brexit shake-up for visa requirements.

Changes tovisa rules inSpainafterBrexitmean thousands of British homeowners now face 90-day limit on their residency status.

Expats living unregistered in Spain may now have to return to the UK or risk falling foul of the new measures.

British pensioners have begun voicing their opposition to the 90-day maximum stay requirements which the Spanish Government has vowed to enforce.

One British national toldCGTN Europe: "Fifty percent where I live are having to stay for 30-days and then have to go home.

"Half of them ain't got nowhere to go, they have sold the house, they don't even have family back home to stay with.

"You know this 90-day thing is just crimping everybody, instead of making it 180 and 90 which is what everybody would agree with and think it would be brilliant to do."

3.35pm update:'Frexit fast!' EU blasted as French standard of living plummets from 5th to 26th in world

Frexit campaigner Florian Philippot shamed Brussels' devastating impact on France's rate for standard of living, as he called for the country to leave the bloc as soon as possible.

In a savage attack on the European Union project, the leader of Les Patriotes blamed Brussels forFrance's catastrophic decline for standard of living.

Mr Philippot argued it was because of France's membership to the bloc that the country has fallen from 5th place to 26th in just 46 years.

He blasted: "In 1975, France: 5th in the world for the standard of living per capita.Today: 26th row.

"But there are still ideologues to tell us that the EU and the euro are extraordinary successes!

"Frexit, independence, freedom, power, fast!"

2:30pm update:Von der Leyen to confront Charles Michel after bizarre chair snub at awkward Turkey summit

Ursula von der Leyen will seek to reaffirm her status as the EU's joint top official after she was left without a chair during a meeting in Turkey.

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The EUs executive will now open their talks with the blocs other top eurocrat to ensure she never falls victim to grandstanding again.

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Scottish fishing chief warns Ireland as boat found fishing 'illegally' in UK - Daily Express