France joined countries supporting the ban on the international bluefin tuna trade yesterday after first resisting it.
With the final meeting of the UN Convention on Endangered Species (CITES) looming, yesterday's change in position by Paris means Malta has now lost its blocking minority at the EU Council.
The Fenech stand follows a similar move by Italy. Both countries last year formed part of a coalition which included Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, that managed to block a proposal by the European Commission to support a call for a ban made by Monaco.
The Commission will now almost certainly support the ban.
"Italy and France were very important players in the Mediterranean tuna trade and were blocking the EU's position to support the ban together with the other Mediterranean member states. With the change of heart of Italy and France there is no more space for a blocking minority," a Commission official said yesterday.
The French announcement was made in Paris by Environment Minister Jean-Louis Barloo, who called the decision "difficult but necessary". He did attach one important condition to France's backing of the ban and that is that it should be postponed by 18 months to allow for two more seasons, an extension deemed unacceptable by environmental groups.
According to the French fisheries protection agency, bluefin tuna stocks in the Mediterranean fell by 61 per cent over the past 10 years.
Earlier this year, the Commission postponed its decision on the position to be taken by the EU at the CITES conference in Doha following a rift between Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg on the way forward.
With the two commissioners expected to step down this week, Brussels is now likely to favour the ban as soon as the new EU Executive takes office next week.
Malta's tuna industry has expanded rapidly over the past years reaping the benefits of a lucrative sushi market in Japan. According to the industry, last year Malta exported €100 million worth of tuna and the industry employs hundreds of workers.
The industry will probably collapse with an international ban, which will only allow fishermen to catch and sell tuna for the local market.