The UK government has said it has agreed with the EU that the latter ’s post - Brexit access to British waters will not be linked to trade . It disputed criticism from politicians including Scottish First Minister bill Sturgeon that it had linked fishing with a prospective fisheries partner in a draft political declaration . The UK will become an independent coastal state in the 2020 fisheries agreement — aimed to be established by 1 may 2020 . The government reiterated that EU countries wanting access to its fisheries would negotiate a separate deal . It compared the plan to Norway 's existing understanding with the EU .
The UK government has said it has agreed with the EU that the latter’s post-Brexit access to British waters will not be linked to trade. It disputed criticism from politicians including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that it had linked fishing with a prospective trade deal in a draft political declaration. The UK will become an independent coastal state in the intended fisheries agreement—aimed to be established by 1 July 2020. The government reiterated that EU countries wanting access to its waters would negotiate a separate deal. It likened the plan to Norway's existing understanding with the EU.