If an agreement on “direct replacement vessels” is struck, 38 French and two Belgian boats could qualify to fish in Britain’s six- to 12-mile territorial waters.
Ms Giradin praised the Channel Island of Guernsey, which issued some 40 licences at the beginning of December but deplored the UK’s “delaying tactics” in the 11 months since the Brexit agreement was signed.
She said it was in the British six- to 12-mile zone that the greatest number of French licences are now missing.
“There are still 53 licences missing, 40 of which are requested for replacement vessels,” she added.
Bogus applications
Earlier this year, UK officials purchased commercial GPS tracking data to help French trawlermen prove their historic fishing rights but the data also exposed that some were bogus applications.
As a result, the European Commission agreed to withdraw a number of these applications, with British officials certain more could be taken off the table in the coming weeks.
Downing Street said it will continue to consider any evidence put forward by the EU for licences of the bloc’s boats to operate in British waters.
George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, was expected to hold further talks with Virginijus Sinkevicius, the EU’s environment commissioner, on Friday.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I’m not aware of certainly any communication we’ve had from the French government, certainly not to the Prime Minister. There’s a technical process still ongoing based on evidence rather than set deadlines.
“We’ve never set a deadline. I recognise they themselves have set one but it’s not one we’re working to […] All the talks on this issue have been constructive.”
A European Commission spokesman said: “Discussions are ongoing, both sides are committed to finding a solution in line with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”
Separately, talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol are expected to remain deadlocked after further discussions on Friday between Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice-president.
