"Towards excellence in port environmental management and sustainability"
The ESPO Award on Societal Integration of Ports is entering its fifth edition this year. For the 2013 competition, the theme ‘Heritage’ was chosen. The call for proposals is open.
News Highlights Highlights
HighlightsSulphur Directive - European Parliament Adopts Compromise ProposalThe European Parliament has adopted at first reading the compromise proposal regarding amending Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the sulphur content of marine fuels during the September Plenary in Strasbourg. The compromise text was negotiated in informal "trilogue" meetings between the European Council, Parliament and Commission and was adopted by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) back in May. ESPO Invites Port Authorities to Contribute to ‘The Port Office’In view of the commemoration of its 20th anniversary in 2013, ESPO is preparing ‘The Port Office’, a richly illustrated coffee-table book which will exemplify the diversity of European ports in an original manner. Therefore, European port authorities that have headquarters of high architectural, art and design value that would fit in the concept of The Port Office are invited to confirm their interest to the ESPO secretariat by 30 September 2012. Commission Considers Priority Right to Renew Port Land Leases UnlawfulThe European Commission has sent a formal warning to Lithuania for maintaining a legal priority right for cargo-handling operators to renew their land lease contract with the port authority. New Commission Survey on Efficiency and Transparency of PortsThe European Commission has launched a business survey on the quality of port services, the efficiency of the port system and transparency of port organisation. The survey is a key element in the development of a possible new ‘ports package’. ESPO and IAPH step up cooperationOn 21 May, ESPO and the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) concluded a memorandum of understanding which intends to reinforce cooperation between the two organisations. The MoU, which was signed at the IAPH mid-term conference in Jerusalem, intends to strengthen the ports’ lobby at the European and international regulatory front. In addition, both organisations intend to develop a closer exchange of know-how and expertise. ESPO Conference 2012 PresentationsThe complete set of speaker presentations and handouts from the 2012 ESPO conference are now available. ESPO Port Manifesto Presented in SopotESPO presented its new Manifesto for Port Authorities, Governments and the European Union “The Renaissance of Port Management and Policy” during the annual ESPO Conference in Sopot, Poland. European Transport Organisations Call on the EU to Maintain Budget for Transport InfrastructureMore than 25 European transport organisations, covering all modes and nodal points, urged EU policy makers to safeguard the 32 billion Euro budget that has been allocated to EU transport infrastructure within the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in the 2014-2020 budget. Parliamentary Hearing on Concessions DirectiveOn 21 March ESPO Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven gave evidence on the role of concessions in the port sector at a hearing of the IMCO Committee of the European Parliament. The hearing was organised to gather input for the opinion of Parliament on the Commission’s horizontal Directive proposal. ESPO position on TEN-T proposalsESPO supports the Commission's TEN-T proposals. However, ESPO believes that transparent and fair criteria for the selection of ports must be established together with a transparent methodology to assess EU added value of projects. ESPO also proposes to increase the co-funding rate for port projects. New Multimedia Tool on ESPO WebsiteAs from now the ESPO secretariat is sharing its Power Point Presentations given at special events or meetings. The presentations will be shown through the application “SlideShare” and can be found under "Multimedia" => "Presentations". Registration for ESPO 2012 Conference is Now OpenThe on-line registration desk for the ESPO 2012 Conference is now open. This year’s conference, which will be hosted by the ports of Gdansk and Gdynia, will be held in Sopot. ESPO Award 2012: Future GenerationsThe ESPO Award on Societal Integration of Ports is entering its fourth edition this year. For the 2012 competition, the theme ‘Youth’ was chosen. The call for proposals is now open. ESPO statement TEN-T DaysOn the occasion of the TEN-T Days, held in Antwerp on 29-30 November 2011, ESPO issued a statement in which it expresses its general support for the new TEN-T proposals of the Commission. Further work is however needed, notably on the multi-modal corridors and the financial framework Pictures ESPO Award are OnlineThe pictures of the 2011 ESPO Award ceremony and dinner are now available. Ports of Stockholm win third ESPO AwardOn 9 November the Ports of Stockholm were granted the 2011 ESPO Award for Societal Integration for their "Port vision 2015" entry. The theme of this year’s competition was ‘Creative Strategies to Communicate the Port to the Wider Public’. ESPO Annual Report 2010-2011 PublishedOn the occasion of its General Assembly meeting, which was held in Brussels on 9 November, ESPO published its latest annual report. ESPO Position on Sulphur DirectiveESPO invites EU policy makers to ensure that the amendment to Directive 1999/32/EC does not go beyond what was agreed in MARPOL Annex VI. In addition, a more ambitious programme of accompanying measures is needed. Save the Date – 10 and 11 May 2012The 9th edition of the annual ESPO Conference is going to be held in Sopot, Poland, on 10 and 11 May 2012. The theme of the conference, which is hosted by the Ports of Gdansk and Gdynia, will be “Port Financing and Investment”. Port Reception Facilities - ESPO contributionThe ESPO contribution to EC review of the Directive on Port Reception Facilities is now available. ESPO Response to Transport Policy White PaperOn 6 July, ESPO published its response to the European Commission’s Transport Policy White Paper. ESPO urges the Commission to ensure that all core seaports are connected to rail freight and, where applicable, inland waterway systems well before the 2050 target set out in the White Paper. ESPO Conference PresentationsThe complete set of speaker presentations and handouts from the 2011 ESPO conference are now available. ESPO Fact Finding ReportESPO presented its new Fact-Finding Report on European port governance during the annual ESPO Conference in Limassol, Cyprus.
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