ESPO asks that the future European norms on the investments foreign countries in the EU do not damage the ports



Any European mechanism of verification of the direct investments foreign countries in the harbour field of the European Union would have to be based on principles of proportionality and compatibility, would have to be transparent and objective and would have to be clearly for the investor to the aim to assure that Europe remains an interesting market in order to invest in the ports, field that is to high intensity of capital. It has emphasized today the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) referring to the regulations proposal "To meanwhile receive with favor the investments direct foreign countries protecting the fundamental interests" that it is introduced last September by the EU commission.

ESPO has remembered that in the last few decades the European ports have benefitted of huge coming investments from European nations are directly that through the acquisition of meaningful share quotas in societies that possess ports. Evidencing as the harbour field recognizes the important role that these investments have had in the development and the success of the European ports, the association has restated the necessity that one of the principles of base of European politics is that to maintain a opened context to the investments.

In occasion of the presentation of the proposal, in the speech anniversary on the state of the Union, Jean-Claude Juncker, assuring that the support of the Commission to the principle of the free exchange "is anything but ingenuous", the president of the EU commission had emphasized that "Europe must always defend its strategic interests". "He is for this - he had explained - than today we propose a new picture of the EU for the control of the investments. If foreign societies of state property intend to acquire an European port, it leave of a our energetic infrastructure or a company of the field of the defense technologies - it had clarified - would have to be able to only make it in transparent way, as a result of a control and of a debate. It is our political responsibility to know what at home succeeds ours for being able protect, if necessary, our collective safety".

ESPO has manifested appreciation for the version of the proposal introduced then from the EU commission "in so far as - it has specified the association of the European ports - a picture of base for the mechanisms of selection in vigor in the European Union supplies already, without to impose to some Member States to develop such picture". The association has found that such proposal "can supply guidelines to the Member States less that currently does not arrange of such a picture, avoiding appropriate political decisions on the possibility or than a country third to carry out investments. Moreover - it has observed ESPO - logic of the existing policies of appraisal in countries follows that are commercial important partner of the EU (the United States, Canada, Australia, China, Russia and Japan)".

The European harbour association has specified that "however the proposal must be put into effect in way such not to endanger, neither through the action neither the perception, the current attraction for the investments of which the European harbour field has benefitted. Any initiative - it has still specified ESPO - would have also to take into consideration the diversity in the governance and in the property of the European ports" and "the information received in application of the regulations they would have to be only used to such scope. It is essential - it has emphasized the association - than the Commission and the Member States guarantee the full confidentiality to such care".

Specifying to consider "that any investment in essential and critical harbour infrastructures would have to be carried out in the full respect of the European norms on the competition and the aids of State", ESPO has observed moreover that "the foreign societies would have to be subject to the legal picture of the EU and estimated in the same way of the European societies. Particular attention - it has specified the association - would have to be classified to the principle of the operating investor in a market economy".

At last ESPO considers "that the principle of reciprocity and the not discriminatory access for the enterprises of the EU to the harbour fields foreign countries would have to constitute the base of every decision on the investments direct foreign countries".