France, Jan. 28 -- The EU and UK face their first post-Brexit legal showdown as the bloc challenges Britain's North Sea sandeel fishing ban- a minor environmental case with major political implications.

In a significant moment for post-Brexit relations, lawyers for the European Union have taken Britain to an arbitration tribunal over a ban on sandeel fishing in the North Sea.

The case marks the first legal dispute between the EU and the UK since Brexit and could influence the Labour government's efforts to rebuild ties with the bloc.

The EU's legal representative, Anthony Dawes, addressed a three-member panel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Tuesday.

"We are here today because the UK's prohibition of all sandeel f...