a study commissioned from the ECSA indicates some aspects to improve of European politics for the shipping



The industry of the shipping in the European Union is an absolutely mature field and, contributing directly with beyond job 620.000 places, it is an economic giant for the European economy". It emphasizes a study on the competitiveness of the marine transport of the EU elaborated from the society of international advising Deloitte that is commissioned by the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA).

The document finds that if the current rates of growth of the total market share of the shipping European suggest that the continuous field to competitive being, evidences that at the same time there are clear signs that the competitiveness of the marine transports of the EU is under a remarkable pressure. "Europe, although its intention goes in opposite sense - the study explains - is facing cases of offshoring of activity so as of flag and its operated tonnage and rates of growth in terms of property are meaningfully inferior to those of its competitors, for example of Asia".

The study finds moreover that if the total normative picture of the EU in matter of marine transports has afforded a competitive positioning of the European centers of the shipping, however is communitarian norms that return the EU less attractive for the shipowners and the activities of marine transport.

The document indicates three main gaps to overwhelm to normative level in order to increase the attrattività of the European Union regarding the companies of the shipping. "In the first place - it is observed - in terms of taxation and of fiscal incentives the current regime previews a field of relatively competitive the European marine transport to its inside. However, the picture EU is less competitive relatively to various elements, between which the criteria of admissibility of the EU relatively to requirement of flag and the current marking out of the permissible marine activities to tonnage tax the mail in existence from the EU commission. Effective a fiscal imposition is to business level and that at the level of shareholders - specifies the study - it is a condition sine qua non in order to maintain a market share consisting in the field of the shipping international".

"According to gap a meaningful one - the study commissioned from the association of the European shipowners continues - is identified relatively to the regarding specific normative picture the application and the legal status of the Sector Advisory Groups for the competitiveness. Draft of a weakness perceived from the shipowners, second which the interpretation of the SAG by the EU, and often also of the Member States, is founded on bases lawyers, but lacks flexibility, while the administrations of the international centers are often very more pragmatic and in favor of the business. This problem is emphasized by the fact that the SAG are easy modifiable from the EU commission and that their duration in charge is not specified any explicitly. In a field where the majority of the relative decisions to the business is in the long term, these factors give rise to uncertainty because of the perceived risk of a possible change of the interpretation criteria of politics".

"A third gap relative to the attrattività of the flag and the legal picture for I use it of the ships - the study specifies - comes from the relative regional norm to the transport marine international that is introduced by the EU and that it involves various standards for the flags of the EU and the European shipowners, involving which requisitioned administrative and technical additional. Moreover - the document emphasizes - some registries of the EU still preview specific requirement of relative nationalities and restrictions to the crews that determine also to an increase of the administrative and economic burdens. Competitors, as Singapore - the study of Deloitte finds - has strategies in order to guarantee that the national norms do not go beyond the international standards and, at the same time, is considered an option of quality for the flag. The consequence of politics of the EU is that the competitiveness of the flags of the EU is damaged as that door to differences in the operating costs and does not bring quality".