02/06/06 - Commission and ESPO set to promote investments in ports

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) held yesterday and today its 3rd Annual Conference in Stockholm under the theme “A European policy for seaports – suggestions on the way forward”. The theme was chosen following the rejection of the port services’ Directive in January this year. The conference was hosted by the Ports of Sweden Association, which celebrates its 100th anniversary, and the Port of Stockholm.

Speaking in front of a sold-out conference, Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot confirmed that the Stockholm meeting marked the beginning of a consultation process: “I will not present today, like a rabbit from the hat, the new European ports policy but I expect us to identify the core elements of such a policy.”

The Commissioner identified the basic challenges that the port sector is facing and confirmed that Europe definitely needs its ports. “The less obvious question is whether European ports need Europe”, said Mr. Barrot, “My ambition of a broadly based port policy is to promote investments, sustainable growth and employment in the port sector.” The Commissioner put forward a number of issues for consideration, including creating legal security for investments, incentives for modernising infrastructures and services and coping with growth through specialisation.

The issues raised by the Commissioner largely coincided with the topics ESPO put forward in a series of recommendations which were unanimously adopted by its General Assembly on 1 June. “We are asking the Commission to concentrate its consultation process on five priorities which would support a stable investment climate for our ports”, said ESPO Chairman Giuliano Gallanti. These five priorities include: clear guidelines on port financing, sustainable development of port capacity, solving operational bottlenecks, creating stable relations with port service providers and the promotion of the overall competitiveness and positive image of European seaports.

Commissioner Barrot expressed caution as regards the way forward: “It is probably too ambitious to believe that all these issues can be dealt with in a single Community legal act relating to port activity as a whole. It is perhaps even too ambitious at this stage to expect that all important issues can be dealt with at all. Specific situations may warrant specific answers taking into account in particular the national context. National problems may require national solutions only. The preliminary question which of these subjects should be tackled through Community action –including legislation- remains to be answered.”

Mr. Gallanti responded that for ESPO policy does not necessarily mean the same as legislation: “The experience with the two port packages amply demonstrates that the diversity of European ports makes it a complicated sector to legislate. We therefore recommend that the Commission adopts an approach which starts from analysing what can be done by better applying existing legislation.”

ESPO further announced a roadmap of activities to parallel the consultation process of the Commission which is expected to take about a year. One of the main features is the organisation of five regional workshops in which the five above-mentioned priority topics will be elaborated further. The results of these workshops will be brought together at next year’s ESPO conference, which will be hosted by the Port of Algeciras and held on 31 May and 1 June 2007.

The ESPO Recommendations for the consultation process on European seaport policy, adopted by the General Assembly of ESPO in Stockholm on 1 June 2006 are available here. 

All presentations made at the Stockholm conference are available here.

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