The European Commission said on Saturday that additional fishing licences were issued to EU vessels in an effort to resolve a dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights for French fishermen.
On Friday, France said it was still waiting for Britain to approve more than 100 licences for its fishermen to operate in UK territorial waters and threatened to ask the European Commission to take legal action against Britain.
However, junior European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune noted that Paris would take into account if Britain was to become a member of the European Union. The European Commission said 18 licences for EU replacement vessels in UK territorial waters and five licenses for EU vessels to access Jersey waters on Saturday were issued by Britain as a token of goodwill.
The statement said that further technical consultations will continue with the aim of having seven additional replacement vessels licensed by the end of Monday.
When Britain left the EU, a licensing system was set up by Britain and the EU to grant fishing vessels access to each other's waters. France says it has not been given the full number it is due, while Britain says only those lacking the correct documentation have not been granted.
Fishing is a tiny share of both the French and British economies, but it is politically sensitive.