ESPO and Feport are satisfied for the agreement on the final version of the European regulations for the ports



The association of the European ports has received with favor the agreement reached from the Commission, the Council and the Parliament of the European Union for the adoption of regulations on the organization of the harbour services and on the transparency financial institution for the ports, final compromise on the normative new that - second the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) - "represents for many aspects a meaningful improvement regarding the original proposal of the Commission of May 2013" ( on May 23, 2013 and 29 june 2016).

Emphasizing that draft of a text agreed after 15 years of arguments, the association has found that the regulations introduce "a flexible picture for the organization of the harbour services in the respect of the diversity of the European ports allowing various instruments (limitations, obligation of public service, operating inside, etc)" and "greater transparency financial institution if the ports receive financings publics".

Moreover, according to ESPO, the final version of the legislative text it is improved relatively "to the way with which the dispositions initially many prescrittive on the relations with users and the stakeholder they are modified in favor of more realistic general principles on as dealing with the interested parts and the harbour users" and "to the fact that the concept of "Organism of Independent Vigilance" is abandoned in favor of a proposal that establishes a good mechanism of management of the claims more practical and less bureaucratic".

At last, for ESPO, the decision is positive "not to widen the field of application of directive 2014/23/UE on the award of concession contracts through this regulations".

However, for the association of the European ports, the agreement reached from the institutions of the EU anticipates also of the elements negatives. In particular, ESPO has expressed regret "because the national governments have not shown greater ambition in moving towards a picture clearly relatively to the possibility for the Harbour Authorities to establish own rates and to develop to an own strategy financial institution".

The association has emphasized that "the European ports consider that the demand to reduce the distribution of financings publics to the ports can be satisfied only if the Harbour Authorities can manage first hand their financial situation and decide as structuring and optimizing their returns". Proposal for an autonomy financial institution for the harbour authorities that - it has remembered ESPO - was contained in the initial proposal of the European Commission and totally was supported by the European Parliament "as one of the points hinge of the regulations on the ports and a condition important in order to free the potential one of all the ports in Europe".

If, at last, ESPO takes note that the final text of article 14 on the harbor dues "will give in Europe to the Harbour Authorities the possibility to determine the level and the structure of the costs of harbour infrastructures and to enter with users in individual negotiations, continues however to remain not clear - it has explained the association - in that measure the national governments can inside limit this legal power of general which requisitioned the Harbour Authorities fixing of their national politics on the ports".

"The final text of article 14 on the harbor dues - it has found Isabelle Ryckbost, general secretary of ESPO - can be seen as a kind of consolidation of the current system to two levels that consists in ports that can develop their system of rates independently and in ports that do not have these instruments of base management. However we must hope that the Member States will use this opportunity in order see again the way with which they consider the ports and in order to become account that to give to the Harbour Authorities the power to negotiate and to develop own tariff politics is the better way in order to improve the competitiveness of the European ports without to alter the competition".

The president of ESPO, Santiago Garcia Mila, has thanked the Commission, the Council and the Parliament of the EU "for the demonstrated constructive cooperation in the course of this legislative process" and has turned a particular thanks to the reporter Knut Fleckenstein "for its continuous support face to giving to the European ports more autonomy. We regret - he has concluded Garci'a Thousands - than on this point the regulations on the ports is not realized in all its potential one".

Also the federation of the European private harbour terminalisti has expressed an approval at work of Fleckenstein, its staff and the relatori shadow that - it has specified the Private Federation of European Port Operators and Terminals (Feport) - "the parts in cause with the objective have constantly consulted to produce a balanced text that among other things it contributes to a clarification of the norms applicable in terms of transparency financial institution of the European ports".

Feporto has observed that the compromise text "recognizes also the existence of a diversity of the models of ports, the existence of the competition in the field cargo handling and includes social dispositions that are supported are from FEPORT that give the European Transport Workers' Federation - ETF".

"Exhorting to vote as one the relation of Fleckenstein during plenary of the European Parliament 8th March - it has found the general secretary of the federation of the European private terminalisti, Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkaid - the harbour Feport and its organizations consorelle they have given the best test that, contrarily to how much often it is said, the harbour field is not conservative neither contrary to the changes. Draft of an alive cluster, ready to carry out own role for the more sustainable increase and the development for the benefit of the field of the transports and the logistics in Europe".

In the next few months "looking ahead - it has continued Kerdjoudj-Belkaid - an important argument regarding regulations GBER (Global Block Exemption Regulation will be carried out), that it regards also the ports, and we are therefore sure that a true collaborativo spirit and of dialogue will continue to prevail is with the Concorrenza Head office who with the DG MOVES. The private investor - he has concluded the general secretary of the Feport - must have a legal and clearly stable picture for being able to invest. It is therefore essential that the harbour field is supported by European politics on the ports and the sustainable competition and that favors the investments".