UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Future Priorities

PURPOSE

This briefing note provides an overview of the fisheries-related provisions of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and outlines priorities for future fishing arrangements between both parties.


KEY POINTS

  • On leaving the EU, the TCA became the governing framework between the EU and UK, including for fisheries. The TCA includes several review clauses and transitional arrangements for a number of areas, some of which are due for renewal in June 2026, fisheries among them. 

  • Covering key areas such as fishing opportunities, access and trade, the TCA provides for a transitional arrangement, covering a five and a half year Adjustment Period to June 2026 for implementation of agreed measures.

  • Under the TCA, which saw a gradual transfer of quota to the UK from the EU, following the end of the Adjustment Period in 2026, the relative quota shares of both parties will remain stable, and annual negotiations will continue with this new baseline, unless amended by agreement.

  • The TCA provides for full access to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the other party, alongside the 6-12nm territorial zone for certain stocks. After June 2026, the level and conditions of access will be determined annually, subject to agreement on quota shares. Multi-annual agreements are possible.

  • Following the Adjustment Period, the UK could theoretically assert control over more of its waters or change the allocation key for quotas. However, the TCA allows both sides to take action if it is deemed that the other side is substantially changing the operating arrangements. In addition, the fisheries section of the TCA is tied to other sections of the agreement, and the expiry of the Adjustment Period on fisheries coincides with the expiry of other elements of the agreement. 

  • Access and trade are tightly coupled across mechanisms for remedial measures and within the termination clause of the TCA. That said, there are leverage points that the UK could use towards securing a more balanced version of the existing agreement with respect to UK fisheries – notably relating to access.

  • The TCA received a less than positive response from the UK’s fishing industry for: failing to live up to Government promises, quota gains that fell short of expectations, and continued access for EU vessels to UK waters, among other grievances.

  • In upcoming negotiations, the fishing industry has called on the Government to take the opportunity in 2026 to rebalance the relationship that the TCA defines.

  • With the review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement approaching, and the Adjustment Period on fisheries ending in 2026, the APPG on Fisheries is gathering evidence on priorities for future UK-EU arrangements on fisheries.

Background

On leaving the EU, the UK left the Customs Union and the EU’s Single Market, and became a third country. Providing the legal framework for this new relationship, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) sets out preferential trading and cooperation arrangements between both entities, including across goods, services, intellectual property, energy, and fisheries. Signed on 30 December 2020, the TCA was applied provisionally from 1 January 2021 and came into force on 1 May 2021. 

For fisheries, what this means practically is that the TCA replaced the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as the governing framework between both parties. The agreement extends to the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and territorial seas (0-12nm) of both entities, and the territorial sea adjacent to the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey and the Isle of Man. It applies to all registered vessels flying EU Member State flags, and all UK registered or licensed vessels flying the UK flag fishing in those waters.


Fisheries Provisions

The TCA covers fisheries under Heading Five (trade, transport, fisheries and other arrangements) of Part Two of the Agreement and in the appendices, and provides for a transitional arrangement, covering a five and a half year adjustment period to June 2026 (Article 1 of Annex 38) for implementation of agreed measures. Unprecedented in international fisheries law in its nature and scope, this bilateral fisheries agreement covers, among others, measures relating to fishing opportunities, access and trade – with access and trade tightly coupled across mechanisms for remedial measures and within the termination clause.

Fishing Opportunities

Perhaps one of the most significant changes for fisheries under the TCA relates to fishing opportunities. Under the terms of the Agreement – which provides for a gradual transfer of quota over the adjustment period – the UK secured an increase of quota estimated to reach 107 thousand tonnes of landed weight annually by 2025, with notable gains of Western mackerel, North Sea herring, Norway pout, North Sea sole, and Norway lobster.

In terms of a percentage this represents an estimated increase of 21.3% for quota species and 16.9% for all species, or 17.8% and 12.4% by value (Stewart et al, 2022). That said, the gains secured were highly concentrated, with three stocks – Western mackerel, North Sea herring, and North Sea sole – constituting over 60% of the change in weight (Stewart et al, 2022). 

Following the end of the adjustment period in 2026, unless amended by agreement, the relative quota shares of both parties will remain stable, and annual negotiations will continue with this new quota baseline (Article 498).

Access to Waters

Across the adjustment period, the TCA provides for full access to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the other Party as well as partial access to the 6-12nm zone of the territorial sea for certain stocks, based on historical activity between 2012-2016, and subject to a licence. 

Access is also provided under the TCA for vessels targeting non-quota species (NQS) (e.g. scallops, crab, red mullet, whelk, lemon sole). NQS like crab, lobster and scallop form the basis of some of the UK’s most valuable fisheries, and are especially important to the UK’s inshore fleet. The TCA provides a global limit of approximately 12,000 tonnes of NQS for UK vessels in EU waters per year. EU vessels, on the other hand, can access up to 32,000 tonnes of NQS in UK waters. Available figures (e.g. Defra, 2024) and industry experts indicate that this allows significant scope for EU fleets to expand and diversify in UK waters to meet this allocation. At the same time, data gaps relating to NQS landings have been cited as posing a constraint to efforts within the UK to develop Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) for several NQS. 

After June 2026, the level and conditions of access will be determined annually, subject to agreement on quota shares (Article 500). Under Annex 38 of the TCA, Parties must notify the other Party of any change in the level and conditions of access to waters that will apply from 1 July 2026. Multiannual agreements are possible. 

Compensatory measures (including a suspension of access or preferential trade arrangements) may be taken if changes are made (Article 501).

Trade

In terms of trade, the TCA provides for tariff-free export of seafood into the EU, however with significant, new administrative requirements. All exported seafood must meet Rules of Origin requirements, and require the correct paperwork and licensing. Though tariff-free, these required arrangements have led to additional costs for exporting to the EU. 

Other

Alongside the above, the TCA makes detailed provision for governance, remedial measures, annual fishing agreements between both parties, transfer of fishing opportunities (swaps), and extensive cooperation on management, science and conservation.


Review and transitional provisions

The TCA includes several review clauses and dates, including a provision under Article 776, for a general review of implementation of the entire Agreement five years after it comes into force, and then every five years after this. The clause states parties will “jointly review the implementation of this Agreement and supplementing agreements and any matters related thereto five years after the entry into force of this Agreement and every five years thereafter.” 

In accordance with the same, the first such review is due in 2026. Though this has been presented as an opportunity for renegotiation, analysts have highlighted that in letter the TCA offers limited scope for change; outlining that review clauses are a common feature of EU agreements with third countries; and typically manifest as joint committee meetings. That said, in areas where agreement was harder to reach within the TCA, it has been acknowledged that there may be more scope for progress. 

The TCA also includes provision for review of the agreement’s provisions on Trade (Part Two of the Agreement). 1 January 2025 is laid out as the earliest date for review of this heading, with the possibility that this review could extend to other Part Two provisions, including fisheries.

Alongside review clauses, the TCA includes several transitional provisions, some of which will require renegotiation or renewal of elements of the agreement. For example, the review provided for in Article 776 coincides with the end of transitional periods in some areas – notably, the expiry of the agreement on energy cooperation and the end of the adjustment period on fisheries in June 2026, and the ending of the grace period on electric vehicle ‘rules of origin’ in 2027. 

A review clause (Article 510) under the fisheries heading of the TCA, sets out provision for joint review four years (1 July 2030) after the adjustment period “with the aim of considering whether arrangements, including in relation to access to waters, can be further codified and strengthened.”

Annual implementation reviews of the TCA are published by the UK Government, and by the European Commission.

Post 2026 Provisions

Following the adjustment period, the UK could theoretically assert control over more of its waters or change the allocation key for quotas. However, the TCA allows both sides to take action if it is deemed that the other side is substantially changing the operating arrangements. For instance, if the UK took a decision to remove access for EU vessels from UK waters, the EU could take reciprocal measures, by imposing tariff- or non-tariff barriers, or removing UK fishing access to EU waters. The UK has the same right to make changes in response to EU actions.

Interactions with Other Areas

In addition, the fisheries section of the TCA is tied to other sections of the agreement: cancellation of the fisheries agreement would also terminate the trade, aviation and road transport sections of the deal (Article 509). As outlined above, the expiry of the agreement on energy cooperation and the end of the adjustment period on fisheries coincide, meaning an agreement on energy could in theory be contingent on an agreement on fisheries. Most recently an agreement on fisheries has been linked to an agreement on defence.

UK TCA Priorities 2026

Industry Priorities

The TCA received a less than positive response from the UK’s fishing industry for: failing to live up to Government promises, quota gains that fell short of expectations, and continued access for EU vessels to UK waters, among other grievances. 

Citing terms that are ‘plainly disadvantageous’ to the UK, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) and United Kingdom Association of Fish Producer Organisations (UKAFPO) have called on the Government to take the opportunity in 2026 to rebalance the relationship that the TCA defines, and fully establish the UK as an independent coastal state. According to the NFFO and UKAFPO, the Agreement constrains the UK’s ability to sustainably manage its fisheries. Specific areas highlighted include: continued access by EU vessels to UK territorial waters; management; and the consequences of the TCA in terms of limiting the UK from shaping its future fisheries. 

With this in mind, they have called on the Government to seek the following provisions in a revised TCA, as the preconditions for achieving socially, economically and environmentally sustainable UK fisheries:

  1. Exclusive access to the UK’s 0-12nm zone for UK vessels. 

  2. Maintenance of the UK’s regulatory autonomy in matters relating to the management of fisheries within its waters. 

  3. A more equitable redistribution of quota shares, better reflecting the nature of the UK’s fishing fleet and the country’s status as an independent coastal state 

  4. Removal of clauses that allow one party to the agreement to impose trade barriers on the other, in the event of a dispute over fisheries matters. 

  5. Improved collaboration on the sustainable and equitable management of NQS

In line with the view of the NFFO and UKAFPO, from the perspective of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) access is the key point of leverage for the UK in terms of securing terms more favourable to the fishing industry, under the terms of the Agreement. The SFF’s priorities include further redistribution of quotas, a system of allocation based on zonal attachment (i.e. whereby quota allocations correspond to the biomass within a nation’s EEZ) rather than historical patterns of fishing, and an end to unfettered access to the UK’s EEZ by EU vessels.

To maximise the efficiency of the access lever, for the SSF a core priority is that access is negotiated on an annual basis, following the end of the adjustment period. Under a multi-annual agreement, as with the transitional arrangement, this lever is essentially paralysed, they highlight. The NFFO believes that a longer-term agreement on access is a concession that could be made, though for the SFF this would have to be in return for a significant concession on the part of the EU. 

Trade matters too. From the perspective of fishing companies, stability and continuity are key – with frictionless trade cited as paramount to the successful operations of their businesses. For the large fishing organisations, decoupling trade from access remains a central ask, on account of this placing the UK’s position on an unequal footing. 

Across the board, at minimum a preservation of what was gained on leaving the EU is seen as paramount. Included here is regulatory autonomy, which is seen as crucial to safeguarding the system of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) still under development in the UK. At the same time, the practical need for alignment and simplification of regulations for boats fishing across areas has been outlined by industry. 

A strong desire that fishing is not again made a totemic issue, to be traded against others is also cited. 


UK Government 

In a recent debate on fishing opportunities held in Westminster Hall, the Minister for Food Security Daniel Zeichner expressed a determination “to get the best possible outcome for our fishing sector, because there is a widespread sense that people were sold short last time around.” 

Providing evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on 1 April 2025, the Minister again expressed a resolve to “get the best possible outcome we can for UK fishers, because they are a very important source of food supply.” He stated that: “The fishing industry has been let down before; we do not intend to let that happen again.”

EU Priorities 2026

From the EU perspective, commentators have highlighted that the emphasis of the TCA’s review will lie with just that – review, rather than renegotiation and revision, and this has been explicitly stated by officials. 

With respect to fisheries specifically, the link between review deadlines for the fisheries and energy agreements has been highlighted, and the European Parliament has called on the Commission to take all necessary measures to ensure reciprocal access to waters after June 2026; that no further quota reductions for EU vessels; and that all negotiation channels with the UK remain open so as to find a lasting solution that can provide stable and predictable conditions for the fishing industry beyond 2026. 

Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis has explicitly committed to ensuring EU vessels retain access to historic fishing areas following the transition period. Anecdotal evidence based on industry meetings with EU officials suggests the same, alongside a desire within the EU to secure a long-term agreement on access. More recently, the interlinking of talks on areas such as defense cooperation, youth mobility and fisheries by the EU have been widely reported. 


NEXT STEPS

  • With the review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement approaching, and the Adjustment Period on fisheries ending in 2026, the APPG on Fisheries is gathering evidence on priorities for future UK-EU arrangements on fisheries.

  • As part of this, we are launching a Call for Evidence from the fishing industry and related stakeholders, on their priorities for the future. 

  • This Call for Evidence will improve our understanding of industry needs and help steer our work within Parliament in support of a sustainable and thriving UK fishing and seafood industry.

References

The All Party Parliamentary Fisheries Group
Office of Alistair Carmichael MP
Houses of Parliament
Westminster
London SW1A 0AA

secretariat@fisheriesappg.org

@FisheriesAPPG

Please note, The All Party Parliamentary Fisheries Group is not responsible for the content of external websites.

This is not an official publication of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues.