Trends in EU Ports Governance 2016

02 June 2016

Gathering in Dublin for its Annual Conference, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) presented on 2 June the “Trends in EU Ports Governance 2016”. This publication is based on the results of the latest ESPO fact finding survey on the governance and organisation of EU ports, which took place over the last months. 86 port authorities from 19 EU Member States, Norway and Iceland completed the questionnaire. Together, they represent more than 200 ports and more than 57% of the overall volume of cargo handled in the European Union. This edition builds on the merits and know-how of the previous editions and focuses on certain trends that can be of added value for both the port industry sector and EU policy makers.

The ten main trends highlighted during the session are:

  • Seaports remain under public ownership but are moving towards more private-like management
  • Port authorities have a mixture of economic and non-economic objectives
  • Optimising land use is a key function of port authorities
  • Ports are developed hand in hand with the local community and key stakeholders
  • Port authorities are proactive TEN-T networkers and the main promotors of the port
  • Stimulating innovation is in the port authorities’ agenda
  • Ports are home and key partners of industrial clusters
  • Ports are key players in the energy sector and supporters of the energy transition
  • Energy management is a key concern of port authorities
  • Ports authorities work towards increased transparency

This special edition has been possible thanks to the support of the Portopia project, which is a collaborative project under FP7 and is co-funded by the European Commission. This publication is a first outcome of the ESPO 2016 fact finding survey. On the basis of the data collected, ESPO will provide further intelligence through the website to policy makers and the port industry in the months to come.

Related documents