PARLIAMENT ADOPTS A RESOLUTION ON A EUROPEAN PORT STRATEGY
On 17 January, the Parliament adopted in Plenary session a resolution on building a comprehensive European Port Strategy. Led by Rapporteur MEP Tom Berendsen (EPP, NL), the report suggests several measures to improve the competitiveness of EU ports and maritime transport in general.
Overall, MEPs stressed that ports play a crucial role in economy, provide jobs, facilitate external trade, energy transition and decarbonisation. The resolution recalls the intelligence agencies’ warnings about the risk the economic presence of non-EU countries in European ports could have on their economic dependence, espionage or sabotage. MEPs suggest that foreign influence in EU ports should be limited and call on the Commission and EU governments to urgently carry out a risk assessment of China’s and other non-EU countries’ involvement in maritime infrastructure, its impact on labour and the environment. They want a mandatory screening of foreign direct investments and more cooperation between EU countries in blocking suspicious investments in critical infrastructure.
The resolution also highlights the various risks to the competitiveness of EU ports, notably due to attempts to evade the implementation of EU rules on ETS and on sustainable maritime fuels, resulting in container transhipment activities shifting to non-EU ports. Finally, in order to foster cooperation between EU ports and address the aforementioned issues, MEPs call for a European Port Summit and urge the Commission to present a European Port Strategy before the end of 2024.
Source: European Parliament