The EU is considering making a more explicit link between energy and fish as the Brexit negotiations enter a critical phase, RTÉ News understands.
"The position of the UK [on fish] is quite strong," an EU official said, "but there are also connections. Sometimes the UK is interested in having access to [the single market] on energy." There is an increasing view in Brussels that this is a valuable market for the UK which could be implicitly linked to fisheries.
It's understood that negotiations on the access the UK will have to the EU's energy market as a third country were close to being finalised. "In that context, there's no point in finalising things like energy, which are in the UK's interest," according to one official familiar with the negotiations. Negotiations have been underway that would grant the UK limited, but still valuable, access to the EU's energy market.
Whatever! UK voters will care more about sovereign issue such as fishing waters rather than economic issues like per unit energy costs