France has threatened to cut the UK off from energy supplies if the terms of the Brexit deal aren’t stuck to.
Clement Beaune, the country’s Europe minister, stated that the agreement must be “completely implemented” and that if it is not, “we will take European or national steps to increase pressure on the UK.”
“The UK depends on our energy exports, they think they can live alone while also beating up on Europe and, given that it doesn’t work, they engage in aggressive one-upmanship,” he added.
After a succession of application rejections to fish in British waters, Paris became enraged and made his remarks.
Last month, the British government reported that only 12 of the 47 applications it received from French small boats had been approved.
The outrage was fanned further when the Jersey administration said later that 75 of the 170 license applications it had received from French boats had been refused.
Earlier this year, the French government made similar threats of “retaliatory measures” as part of a fishing dispute with Jersey.
It also threatened to cut off electricity to the British Crown Dependency, which receives 95 percent of its power from France via three undersea cables.
EDF Energy, a state-owned company based in France, generates about one-fifth of the UK’s electricity through nuclear power plants, wind farms, coal and gas power plants.
The company serves over five million commercial and residential customers and is the UK’s largest electricity supplier by volume.
