Brussels extends until April 2020 the validity of the regulations of exemption for category for the companies of marine transport of line



the EU commission has decided to extend for others five years, until April 2020, the validity of the legal picture in vigor that, to determined conditions, exempts the consortia of marine transport of line of the communitarian norms in matter of restrictive agreements and abuse of dominant position. Brussels has explained that, to conclusion of a realized public consultation in the first months of this year, it is ascertained that such exemption has worked well, giving legal certainty to agreements from which they benefit the customers and that they do not threaten the competition. The Commission therefore has established that the situation of the market justifies a delay.

the World Shipping Council (WSC) has received with satisfaction the decision to extend the validity of the regulations of exemption for category for the formed shipowning consortia from companies of marine transport of line that altogether have a quota until 30% of the market. "The agreements of vessel sharing - it has found the president and managing director of the WSC, Christopher Koch - constitute a consolidated and essential part of the nets of marine transport of line that anyway transport the international commerce of the European Union and of the world. The consortia allow with the companies to supply to own customers better services to inferior costs, with an improvement of the environmental performances".

Second the WSC, "the regulations of exemption for category of the Commission offers to legal certainty to the carriers and transparency to the community of the shipping on the norms based on which the consortia operate". "In that he is most international of the activities - it has observed Koch - is essential that the rules are clear and that all have the same understanding of that such norms represent. The regulations of exemption for category for the consortia offer such comprensibilità, and this returns more efficient and more expectable the system. Of this they benefit all the involved subjects".

Satisfaction for the delay until the April 2020 of the exemption from the norms antitrust of the EU is expressed also by the association of the European shipowners: "we warmly receive - the general secretary of the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA has commented), Patrick Verhoeven - the decision of the EU commission, than - it has emphasized - it is totally online with our theses. The extension of the regulations of exemption for category will be of great benefit for the marine transport of line, allowing the prosecuzione of a legal picture that up to now has demonstrated its usefullness. The rules - it has found Verhoeven - offer clarity, transparency and certainty of the right, this of which in these difficult times field marine transport of line it needs".

"the increase of the competition of the consortia of the marine transport of line - it has continued Verhoeven - determines an improvement of the returned services and promotes the innovation in a period of increase of the prices of the fuel, of economic inactivity, more rigid environmental norms and than severe measures of cost reduction that the companies have assumed in order to remain afloat. The decision of the Commission is praiseworthy as it removes the legal uncertainty from the equation. In this way - it has concluded the general secretary of the ECSA - one affords to the operators to enter or to exit from the consortium agreements on the base of the truth of the market, serving so the interest of the loaders and the conveyors, but above all of the consumers exclusively".