CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT manifest deep disappointment for the delay of Regolamento EU of exemption for the containerized companies of navigation



Organizations CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT, associations that represent shippers, towing society, harbour, terminalisti and working societies harbour of Europe, have sent today a letter to the president of the EU commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, in order to express the their deep dissaproval for the decision of the Commission to postpone of other four years Regolamento of exemption for category (TO DRINK) for the containerized marine consortia without to bring some modification to you(on 24 March 2020).

In the letter they have complained that the Head office of the Competition has rejected the demanded iterated one of the five organizations so that the EU commission was extended the validity of Regolamento of a year to the aim - they have specified - to only allow a deepened review, fair and more balanced, taking into consideration other sources of data regarding those supplied by the representatives of the field of the marine transport of line.

If from its appraisal of the effectiveness and fairness of Regolamento the EU commission has deduced that during the last few years the customers of the containerized companies of navigation that take part of consortia have benefitted of the application of this Regolamento, CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT have beaten again that during the process of review of Regolamento started from the Commission at the end of 2018 "our organizations and so as the independent relationships by the International Transport Forum have demonstrated with clarity that the benefits of Regolamento for the customers are not achieved and that they have been even illicit behaviors by the carriers in confronts oftheir lenders of services".

"We have emphasized - the letter continues - than to light of the important changes happened in the market in last the five years, in consideration of the consolidation, the vertical integration and of the digitalisation, it has been important to safeguard the interests of the logistics and the chains of supplying of the EU and the good conditions of job for employee theirs. We have repeatedly declared to the services of the DG Competition that the current legal picture for the consortia of marine transport of line has become obsolete, since the majority of the carriers work in alliances and that the concentration of the market is in increase".

"In a legal analysis sent to the Direction of the Competition - they have remembered CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT - we have put in evidence defects and legal deficiencies of the document of published job in December 2019(on February 10, 2020, ndr). Aspects refer to many: data lacking, unilateral hypotheses on the increments of efficiency without to hold account of parameters not legacies to the rates, lack of a corrected definition of the important geographic markets in order to estimate the market shares of the companies of the EU and the Third-country. It is interesting to notice - they have observed in the letter - than in its document of job the same DG Competition has recognized the lack of data and however has proposed to extend the regulations of exemption for category without some modification of the text".

"With our great surprise and disappointment - they have denounced CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT - nobody of these arguments is taken in consideration from the Direction of the Competition and we have not never had the opportunity to meet commissioner Vestager in order to express the worries of our associates".

Moreover CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT have found that in the communication of tuesday with which the EU commission it has announced own decision to be extended the validity of Regolamento for other four years "the Direction of the Competition seems to be still less rigorous regarding the marine companies of line. Instead imposing that a fair part of the benefits generated from the efficiencies deriving from the agreements of the consortia effectively is transferred the users of the services of marine transport - they have observed the five organizations - the DG Competition now considers that the benefits "can" eventually be transferred to the customers in terms of a better cover of the ports and better services. This - they have emphasized - is particularly unjust in confronts of the customers and seriously puts in argument the methodology used from the Direction of the Competition".

Moreover the letter evidences that "the role of the chains of supplying of the EU has been revealed essential in these last weeks in the picture of the Covid-19 crisis. We find with regret - CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT have written - than this role really is not appreciated during the process of review of DRINKING for the consortia".

CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT have explained that with the letter they have intentional to inform the EU commission "of the imminent negative consequences of a legislative action that has not been object of an adequate appraisal and that probably it will have harmful effects on many companies and the workers of the logistics and the chains of supplying of the European Union, between which the field of the marine transport. Our field - they have rimarcato newly - is now making all the efforts possible in order to guarantee that the chains of supplying in Europe work well and that is guaranteed the free circulation of the goods. We consider - they have emphasized - than the Covid-19 represents a difficult test for the EU and we believe firmly that it is fundamental that the political responsibles adopt reasonable legislative actions that protect the interests of the majority of the fields of the EU. The case of DRINKING for the consortia is not that".

CLECAT, ETA, ESC, ETF and FEPORT have concluded manifesting the auspice that, once that the crisis for the Covid-19 will be exceeded, they will have the opportunity to start a new dialogue with the EU commission on this topic.