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BRIXHAM, England In the pitch black of early morning, huge waves hurled the 30-ton vessel from side to side, drenching crewmen who struggled to keep their footing as they cast the trawlers nets into the swirling seas.

But, once back on the bridge, the skipper, Dave Driver was oblivious to the stomach-churning motion of the boat, and dismissive of the perils of his work even as he recalled once falling overboard and, on another occasion, rescuing two fishermen from drowning.

Im my own boss, I do what I want, I think its the best job in the world, said Mr. Driver, who left school at age 15, but now owns the 1.2 million pound trawler Girl Debra, named after his wife.

He has only one major gripe in life: the French.

Mr. Driver thinks French boats are allowed to take too many fish too close to the British coast touching on a deeply emotional issue on both sides of the channel that could dash hopes of a post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the European Union.

Without the obligations of membership in the bloc, Britain wants to curb the number of continental trawlers in its waters. It is even scaling up its naval protection fleet in preparation for possible confrontations on the high seas.

Yet its fishermen rely on European markets where new trade barriers look certain. And if talks collapse many fear that Frances famously truculent fishermen could blockade ports to stop movements of British fish.

That matters in places like Brixham, in the southwest of England, because the British export most of the fish they catch and import the majority of what they eat.

About one third of the catch landed in Britains ports is mackerel, a species few Britons will touch. Overall, around four-fifths of the fish caught by British vessels goes abroad, mainly to other European countries.

Most of it is mackerel, herring and shellfish that fetch better prices abroad.

For decades this has been managed through a combination of free trade within the European Union and carefully drawn fishing rights based on historic fishing patterns. French and Dutch fishermen say they are hardly interlopers in Britains waters, as their ancestors worked there for centuries.

But Brexit has blown that system apart, and long-held resentments are coming to the surface.

The looming clash is in many ways extraordinary, considering how minute the fishing industry is in the greater scheme of things.

There are just 12,000 British fishermen operating 6,000 vessels and contributing less than one half of one percent of gross domestic product less, according to one analysis, than Harrods, the upscale London department store.

I can see a ridiculous amount of political emotion being spent on something that is not economically that important, said Chris Davies, a former chairman of the European Parliaments Fisheries Committee.

Yet a sense of injustice has festered for years in British coastal communities, many of which have little else going for them apart from fish.

The British governments once seemed happy enough to trade fishing for other concessions, downsizing the national fleet, said Mr. Davies, who added that many British fishermen sold their boats and fishing rights to continental competitors.

There is a huge myth that some have created that they were robbed and its just not true, Mr. Davies added, noting that much British fish is extracted by wealthy corporations rather than independent fishermen like Mr. Driver. Just 13 companies hold 60 percent of British fishing rights.

But gazing back at the English coastline from a few miles out at sea, things look different. If Mr. Driver had his way, foreign vessels would be barred from the first 12 miles of British waters, while British quotas would be expanded.

The French have the majority of the fish, we just havent got enough quota, said Mr. Driver, reading from a sheet of paper with his monthly cod entitlement.

Thirty kilos that isnt even a box thats all Im allowed, the French they fill up and, with all due respect, asked Mr. Driver, pointing to the ocean, his voice rising a little, whats this piece of water called between England and France? Its called the English Channel, not the French Channel.

Around Britains coast, about 60 percent of the fish are caught by foreign boats, and one former British minister, Michael Forsyth, recently compared the situation to the British demanding two-thirds of Frances grape harvest.

In the English Channel zone where Mr. Driver goes to sea 84 percent of the cod is allocated to France and just 9 percent to the British, according to Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermens Organizations.

Yet, livelihoods are at stake on the other side of the Channel, too. Standing on the bridge of the Prins Bernhard, preparing to leave the Dutch port of Scheveningen on a 15-day voyage to Irelands west coast, Christophe Pauliac described being a captain not as a job, but a passion.

Mr. Pauliacs father, grandfather and uncle were fishermen, and he is in charge of 30 French crew members on this floating fish factory, a large and sophisticated trawler that nets, then pumps up tons of mackerel and herring from the sea.

The fish are sorted and stored in a giant freezer that can accommodate more than 65,000 blocks of fish, each weighing more than 20 kilos, or about 45 pounds.

Excluding the Prins Bernhard from British waters particularly those off the Scottish coast would be a catastrophe, said Mr. Pauliac, who added that he competes not with smaller trawlers but with Scotlands fleet of big, efficient, vessels. His boat spends perhaps 70 percent of its time in British territorial waters.

There is room for everyone, said Mr. Pauliac calm, polite and mild-mannered adding that he hopes for an agreement.

Without a deal, there could be bankruptcies in France. Even crews that spend just 30 percent of their time in British waters would struggle, said Antoine Dhellemmes, director general of France Pelagique, the company that operates the Prins Bernhard.

The European Union wants to base new fishing quotas around Britain on existing ones, and make them of long duration, rather than haggling annually as the European Union does with Norway over fishing rights.

The British want the opposite. But one question is whether the British fishing industry will get the better deal it demands or whether history will repeat itself with London trading fish for finance or another sector in a broader trade deal.

There is danger for Britains fishing industry if the European Union imposes tariffs on imports. Even without such restrictions, British fish will need new food safety certification before export, and time-consuming checks are likely at continental ports.

Extra costs and delays could drive some merchants, processors and fishermen out of business.

Perhaps the best hope that a deal can be struck is the fact that British fishermen seem to be demanding less than some expected.

In the Cornish port of Newlyn, Andrew Pascoe, talking on the quay side next to his vessel, the Ajax, called for only modest increases in fish quotas and the exclusion of foreign vessels from a zone 12 miles off the British coast. In many areas there is now a six-mile limit for French boats.

Some fishermen would say ban all foreign trawlers but we couldnt claim everything back and catch all that fish, said Mr. Pascoe, who is also chairman of the National Federation of Fishermens Organizations.

A truck from Portugal routinely meets one of Mr. Pascoes boats so that its haul of shellfish can be driven straight to the continent, illustrating the importance of European markets to him. His Portuguese customer has promised to keep the arrangement after Brexit, whatever the extra costs, he said.

But many are unsure that things will go so smoothly.

We hold the access card and the Europeans hold the market card, said Sam Lambourn, as he tinkered with the Lyonesse, a catamaran used for sardine fishing in the same port.

The markets are interrelated and nobody is isolated, he said, and anyone who thinks they are not going to be affected is in for a surprise.

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Fishing Presents a Vexing Snag in Brexit Talks - The New York Times

In the coming decades, sub-Saharan Africa will grow increasingly important to both the U.S. and Europe. Its growing population and proximity to Europe make that fact undeniable. Chinese political and economic inroads may be irreversible. Yet, by working together, the U.S. and Europe do have the ability to create the space for African governments and their people to have a viable alternative strategic direction. Such an undertaking not only would benefit Africa, but would put a much-needed item of converging interest on the transatlantic agenda.

The transatlantic relationship between the United States, the European Union (EU) and major European capitals is rife with a growing sense of pessimism that the two sides of the Atlantic have set themselves on independent courses. American and European leaders have parted ways on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to contain Irans nuclear ambitions and the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. Beyond that, the two sides continue to have running disagreements on trade, defense spending and how to tax and regulate digital services. The U.S. and Europe also broadly continue to fail to find a coordinated approach to Chinas aggressive and mercantilist economic stance.

These substantial policy disagreements are compounded by political statements that have diminished mutual trust and goodwill. President TrumpDonald John TrumpFormer Pennsylvania governor: Biden nomination will be 'virtually clinched' after next Tuesday How coronavirus is changing Sunday's debate The Memo: Coronavirus scrambles the art of campaigning MORE has called the EU a foe that treats the U.S. worse than China. Donald Tusk, then the president of the European Council, said last year that Trump is perhaps the most difficult challenge facing the European Union. While the history of the transatlantic relationship has no shortage of contentious disputes, both America and Europe remained committed to one another in a mutually beneficial strategic alignment. Yet, confronted with numerous disagreements over fundamental issues, todays European leaders have taken to discussing strategic sovereignty for Europe with renewed urgency.

The U.S. and Europe undoubtedly will remain close economic partners for the foreseeable future, but the strategic alignment between the two continents is at risk of losing cohesion. And once abandoned, it will not be easily or quickly restored.

To avoid such a result, what is needed is a strategic project where the skill sets and political interests of both the U.S. and Europe can complement one another to achieve a mutual interest. That could be achieved by cooperating in sub-Saharan Africa to expand market-oriented economies and democratic governance. That would help African countries to better navigate the threats from violent extremist groups, the rigors of environmental changes, and the siren call of the Chinese economic model.

While often left out of transatlantic conversations, the future of sub-Saharan Africa holds potentially enormous implications for both the United States and Europe. Over the next 30 years, the population of sub-Saharan Africa is slated to grow to over2.2 billion people, or nearly a quarter of the worlds total population. The U.S. and Europe share a common interest to see this region develop into a zone of stability and not a source of mass irregular migration of the type that has proven so politically destabilizing to Europe in recent years.

Between 2000 and 2017, nearly 1 million sub-Saharan migrants sought asylum in Europe. As Africas population grows, the potential for future mass flows of people north because of climate change or conflict could be overwhelming.

By working together, the U.S. and Europe could align their approaches to sub-Saharan Africa in a way that provides Africans a meaningful alternative to Chinas coercive debt-diplomacy while also allowing for a positive project that restores confidence in transatlantic cooperation. Such a strategic arrangement could work because the United States and Europe could each focus on different, but complementary actions.

The EU could emphasize the types of programs for which it has shown an affinity, including in the development, health and environmental sectors. The U.S., along with select allies, could use its military might and superior intelligence collection abilities to defeat terrorist groups and work to mature the newly established U.S. International Development Finance Corporation into a mechanism to provide a viable, sustainable and transparent financing options to balance the influence of China. That would cater to the political preferences of the Trump administration.

Both Washington and European capitals should understand that sub-Saharan Africa increasingly will be a valuable export market and economic partner. While only about 1 percent of current U.S. trade takes place with sub-Saharan Africa, the opportunities in coming decades as extreme poverty recedes and urbanization grows are exponential. It is only prudent to take steps now to ensure African countries remain open to Western business and embrace rule of law and market capitalism. If not, American and European companies could well be crowded out by state-supported Chinese rivals and the non-market economic conditions they bring.

In just the past several weeks, Washington and Brussels have turned their attention to Africa. Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoTrump's national security adviser says China 'covered up' coronavirus The Hill's Morning Report - Biden delivers another devastating blow to Sanders CDC chief says it's wrong to call COVID-19 a 'Chinese virus' MORE and his EU equivalent, Josep Borrell, each made separate visits to the continent. Additionally, Ursula von der Leyen made her inaugural visit as EU Commission president in February, leading an unprecedentedly large delegation of 20 EU commissioners.

This attention is surely welcome, but the West is lagging behind China. According to the American Enterprise Institutes Global Investment Tracker, China has invested some $300 billion in sub-Saharan Africa since 2005. China has opened dozens of Confucius Institutes, mostly within African colleges and universities to propagate its soft power, invested in media organizations to deliver Beijings interpretation of the news, and even built the underlying information technology infrastructure in many cases.

The U.S. and Europe find themselves at numerous political and policy impasses, and the time is right to expand the scope of what is possible. U.S. and European leaders should reframe sub-Saharan Africa as a transatlantic issue. Sub-Saharan Africa is where the American interest in competing with China meets sound economic and governance goals shared by Europe and Africans themselves.

Scott Cullinane is the executive director of U.S.-Europe Alliance. From 2011-2018, he served in various positions with the U.S. Congress, including as the professional staff member for the House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee where he covered a broad jurisdiction, including the European Union, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Central Asia. Follow him on Twitter @ScottPCullinane.

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Could sub-Saharan Africa be what unites the US and Europe? | TheHill - The Hill

Like many jurisdictions around the world, the European Union has announced extraordinary measures to combat the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, including measures to mitigate the impact the illness will have on SMEs.

In a statement yesterday,the Commission said it considers the COVID-19 pandemic as qualifying as an unusual event outside the control of government. The Commission will recommend adjusting the fiscal efforts required from Member States in case of negative growth or large drops in [economic] activity.

More policy action may be in the queue, including general fiscal policy support and suspending the fiscal adjustment recommended by the Council in case of a severe economic downturn in the Euro area or the EU as a whole.

Regarding the impact to European SMEs, the EU had this to say:

To bring immediate relief to hard-hit SMEs, the EU budget will deploy its existing instruments to support these companies with liquidity, complementing measures taken at national level. In the coming weeks, 1 billion will be redirected from the EU budget as a guarantee to the European Investment Fund to incentivise banks to provide liquidity to SMEs and midcaps. This will help at least 100,000 European SMEs and small mid-caps with about 8 billion of financing. We will also provide credit holidays to the existing debtors that are negatively affected.

The complete statement on the Coronavirus is available here.

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Coronavirus: European Union to Aid SMEs with 8 Billion of Financing - Crowdfund Insider

The Bavarian Minister for the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, greets the first US soldiers to arrive in Europe (Nuremberg, 3 March 2020)

The Ministers for Defence of the 27 countries of the EU, 22 of which are also members of NATO, met on 4 and 5 March in Zagreb, Croatia. The central theme of the meeting (in which Lorenzo Guerini of the Democratic Party represented Italy) was not to seek a response to the Coronavirus crisis which is jamming up civil mobility, but how best to develop military mobility . The decisive test is the Defender Europe 20 exercise, scheduled for April and May. The General Secretary of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who took part in the EU meeting, dfines it as the largest deployment of US forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War .

The 20,000 soldiers who, with 10,000 others already on site, and 7,000 NATO allies, are presently arriving in Europe from the USA, informs the US Army Europe. They are to deploy throughout the European region . The US forces are bringing with them 33,000 pieces of military equipment, from personal weapons to Abrams assault tanks. It is obvious that they will therefore need adequate infrastructures for their transport. But there is a problem, as revealed by a report by the European Parliament (February 2020): Since the 1990s, European infrastructures have been developed only for civil usage. However, military mobility has become a key question for NATO. As the Alliance lacks the tools to improve military mobility in Europe, the European Union, which does possess the legislative and financial tools to do so, plays an indispensable role .

The Action Plan on Military Mobility, presented by the European Commission in 2018, plans to modify those infrastructures which are not adapted to the weight and dimensions of military vehicles . For example, if a bridge is unable to support the weight of a column of tanks, it must be reinforced or rebuilt. On the basis of this criterion, the test for the strength of the new bridge, which in Gnes will replace the collapsed Morandi bridge, will have to be carried out with Abrams tanks weighing 70 tonnes each. These modifications, which are useless for civil purposes, will require massive expenditure to be assumed by the member countries, with a possible financial contribution by the EU .

The European Commission has provided for a primary allocation of 30 billion Euros this is public money taken from our pockets. The Plan also intends to simplify the Customs formalities for military operations and for the transport of dangerous military-style merchandise .

The US Army Europe has demanded the institution of a Military Schengen Zone , with the difference that it will not be people who will be allowed to travel unhindered, but tanks.

The Defender Europe 20 exercise - as was explained during the meeting in Zagreb will enable the identification of all obstacles to military mobility, which the EU will have to remove .

The transport network of the EU will therefore be tested by 30,000 US soldiers, who will deploy throughout the European region , exempted of the Coronavirus standards. This is confirmed by a video showing the first 200 soldiers of the US Army Europe arriving in Bavaria on 6 March. While in Lombardy, only a few hundred kilometres away, more severe standards are in place, in Bavaria, where the first European outbreak of Coronavirus was noted, US soldiers just off the plane shook hands with German authorities and kissed the comrades without any masks. Spontaneous question could they already be vaccinated against the Coronavirus?

Besides, we might ask ourselves what could be the purpose of the largest deployment of US forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War , officially to protect Europe from any potential threats (with a clear reference to the Russian menace ), at the moment when Europe is in crisis because of the threat of the Coronavirus (there is even one case at NATO headquarters in Brussels). And since the US Army Europe informs us that movements of troops and equipement in Europe will last until July , we can only wonder if all of the 20,000 US soldiers will go back to their Homeland, or will some of them stay behind with their weapons. Could the Defender become the Invader of Europe?

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In a Europe closed down by the Coronavirus, the EU opens its doors to the US army, by Manlio Dinucci - Rseau Voltaire

PARIS The shutdown of Europe expanded drastically on Saturday as more countries shuttered businesses, locked up borders and chased people off streets and into their homes in a race to contain the growing threat of the coronavirus.

Spain became the second country in Europe, after Italy, to impose strict limits on public life, telling everyone to stay indoors, with few exceptions. As cases soared nationwide, the authorities confirmed that the prime ministers wife had been infected.

In France, cafes and restaurants central to the countrys soul and social life were ordered closed along with most other nonessential businesses.

In the United States, Vice President Mike Pence widened the American travel ban to include Britain and Ireland, effectively shutting off travel from nearly 30 European countries, while the White House said that President Trump had tested negative for the virus.

Across Europe, there was a widespread feeling that the health crisis flaying Italy for weeks had arrived at the doorsteps of its neighbors, and that the time for hoping the threat would somehow dissipate without sweeping intervention was over.

Until Saturday, cafes in Paris had been full of revelers and restaurants had been doing good business, even without tourists. But then French officials said the crisis could be disregarded no longer.

The time of classic Parisian nonchalance had come to an end.

In France, when you tell people to stay home, they go to bars to celebrate the closure, said Hlne Noaillon, a bartender at Les Pres Populaires, reacting to news of the closures on Saturday night while the bar was still open.

Our society is more libertarian, she said. As long as you dont put people under any real constraints, theyre going to continue to live the way they want.

While some European leaders, like President Emmanuel Macron of France, have called for intensifying cooperation across nations, others are trying to close their countries off.

From Denmark to Slovakia, governments went into aggressive virus-fighting mode with border closures.

In Denmark, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said all foreigners who did not have an essential purpose for visiting the country would be turned away. Passenger ferries and trains will stop running, but cargo transports will continue. The measures will be in effect until at least April 13.

Poland planned to close its borders at midnight and deny all foreigners entry. The Czech Republic and Slovakia followed suit. Lithuania announced border checks at the frontiers with Poland and Latvia. Still, it is at best unclear whether closing borders is an effective means of containing the virus.

In France, there was a sense that a general lockup might now be the only way to at least slow the spread of the disease domestically. On Saturday night, French officials scolded their fellow citizens in announcing the new closures, which extend to virtually all businesses except those deemed essential, like grocery stores, banks and gas stations.

Previous declarations against large gatherings had been ignored, they warned. The result was more infections, more hospitalizations and more deaths.

The first measures taken to limit gatherings have been imperfectly applied, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said. I say it with all seriousness: Together we must show more discipline in implementing these measures.

He called on the French to avoid family gatherings and nonessential travel. But, baffling to commentators, Mr. Philippe insisted at the same time that Sundays municipal elections would go ahead as planned.

The drastic new measures in France came in reaction to a doubling of infections in the last 72 hours to 4,500. There have been 91 deaths, and 300 people are in critical condition.

In Spain, the outbreak is even worse. At least 6,200 are infected, and 190 have died.

On Saturday, the Spanish authorities said the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Snchez, Begoa Gmez, had tested positive for the virus.

A day after declaring a state of emergency, Spains divided government argued all day about what concrete steps to take to combat the virus. After a seven-hour meeting, the government decreed a nationwide lockdown, extending the kind of measures that various regional authorities including in the capital, Madrid, and in Catalonia had already taken in recent days.

Madrid, normally one of Europes most bustling cities with thousands of bars and cafes, resembled a ghost town on Saturday, as its 3.5 million residents started to follow the advice of the authorities to stay at home.

The train stations and main avenues were almost deserted. Only stores providing basic services like supermarkets and gas stations were allowed to stay open.

The government said people could leave their homes to buy food, to go to work if they cannot work remotely, to seek health care, or to assist the elderly and others in need. The government also ordered all schools, restaurants, bars and nonessential stores to close.

Were the new Italy, said Francisco Gutierrez, a 33-year-old street cleaner for the city of Madrid. We dont know how long its going to last, and we dont know how much Spain will suffer from this yet.

Mr. Snchez has warned that the number of coronavirus cases in Spain could reach 10,000 next week, given how sharply infections have been rising.

In Britain and Ireland, the new ban on travelers heading to the United States will go into effect as of midnight on Monday, American officials said Saturday. It follows the strictures on travel from the Continent announced by Mr. Trump on Wednesday, which were widely criticized in Europe. The new ban got a similar reception in Britain on Saturday.

Its a complete and utter waste of time, said Roy Anderson, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College London.

Britain continued to resist the main measure taken by much of Europe, however: the banning of large gatherings.

Pro-Brexit campaigners had treated Britains previous exemption from the ban as a vindication of the countrys decision to cut ties with the European Union. The U.K. is now treated as an independent country, Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party, said triumphantly last week.

But Brexit champions were largely silent on Saturday as Britain, which has recorded 1,140 infections and 21 deaths from coronavirus, was added to the list.

The new measures across Europe reflected a growing awareness that delayed action or intervention could lead to an outbreak like the one in Italy. In that country, more than 21,000 people have been sickened, more than 1,400 have died, and doctors and nurses have been so overwhelmed that they have had to choose whom to treat and whom to leave to fend for themselves.

France declared that it had entered the most serious threat level from the epidemic Phase 3 an announcement that citizens and commentators had been awaiting with dread.

Up until now, the French have not sufficiently become aware of their role facing the virus, one of the countrys top health officials, Jrme Salomon, said. It is urgent it is now that you need to change behavior.

A half-dozen French lawmakers and several government ministers have been infected. Sundays elections in France, for mayors and city councils, have been regarded as a critical referendum on Mr. Macrons reformist government, though turnout is now expected to be low.

Beyond the elections, France has yet another coronavirus problem to tackle: a cruise ship headed its way.

An Italian couple tested positive for the coronavirus in San Juan, Puerto Rico, late on Friday after disembarking from the cruise ship. Costa Cruises, an Italian subsidiary of Miami-based Carnival Corporation, says the ship is now heading to Marseilles, France.

But the closing of restaurants and cafes in France, major elements of the countrys symbolic heart, is certain to bring the crisis home in a way that nothing has so far. Even the closing of museums and major tourist attractions, announced Friday, dont compare.

Commentators on French television Saturday night noted that even during the German occupation, bars and restaurants stayed open.

On Saturday night, a Paris reveler, Clmence Jamult, a 39-year-old history teacher, said the closures meant the end of a very French way of life.

Its a special moment, she added. Others said it was inevitable.

Its a little sad to come to this, but its a necessary decision, said Ms. Noaillon, the bartender, adding that French people were barely respecting the rules of social distancing urged on them by the government earlier in the week.

Adam Nossiter reported from Paris, and Raphael Minder and Elian Peltier from Madrid. Reporting was contributed by Benjamin Mueller from London, Constant Meheut and Aurelien Breeden from Paris, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs from Washington.

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Shutdowns Spread Across Europe as Spain and France Order Broad Restrictions - The New York Times