Zeno D'Agostino was elected president of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO). The unanimous appointment of the President of the Authority of Harbour System of the Adriatic Sea Eastern took place today in Brussels during of the General Assembly of the Association of European Ports which has also re-elected Daan Schalck, CEO of North Sea Port, as deputy President and Ansis Zeltins, CEO of the port of Riga, as the second vice president. D'Agostino, class 1968, succeeds Annaleena Mäkilä who chaired the organization in the last two years.

The term of office of the President of ESPO is two years and is renewable once. D'Agostino is the second Italian to have been placed at the head of the Association of European Ports, born in 1993, after the appointment in 2004 of Giuliano Gallanti, historian president of the ports of Genoa and Livorno.

"I am honored - said D'Agostino - to have received this prestigious assignment. First of all, I thank Annaleena Mäkilä and all those who believed in me and mine I work during my years as Vice President. We are experiencing a difficult moment, during which the role of European ports is becoming crucial for the economic and geopolitical balance both in European and world level. We are playing a leading role plan in many epochal challenges, such as the energy transition. It is It is therefore essential that the European port system addresses these challenges with a shared approach and concrete proposals. I'm talking about Solutions to be identified through constant dialogue with the European policy-makers'.

'ESPO was and continues to be - underlined D'Agostino - the instrument just to pursue these objectives, adapting policies and European strategies in the difficult times we are experiencing in order to achieve the results we all hope for. From the transition energy to the governance of tomorrow's ports, there are numerous aspects of innovation that will have to be pursued, and we will do so with a steady hand on the rudder. We will also improve our efforts to communication, in order to reach a wider audience of our sector alone. Citizenship, in fact, is becoming increasingly aware and interested in the crucial importance of our sector. In times of crisis like this, when we are exposed to continuous shocks, ESPO can play a key role as a natural defender of the interests of European ports'.

On the sidelines of the ESPO assembly, the president of the Association of Italian Ports (Assoporti), Rodolfo Giampieri, underlined that "the presidency of ESPO to Italy represents a very important piece for the port of our country and confirms the central and decisive role that Italy of the ports has in Europe and, in particular, in the Sea Mediterranean, a sea that takes on an increasingly important value strategic. Assoporti has worked a lot on EU issues and with the colleague D'Agostino president of ESPO we will bring all the instances directly in the European offices'.

Giampieri, moreover, on his behalf and on behalf of all the presidents of the Italian Port System Authority has expressed the condolences for the death of Giuseppe Bono, President for 20 years of the navalmeccanico group Fincantieri: «today - has affirmed the president of Assoporti - we lost a man who with Competence and passion has led a great company, an excellence of our country, bringing it worldwide. We squeeze around the family in this moment of great pain."

D'Agostino also expressed condolences and closeness to the Bono's family: "I was very impressed - he said - the news of the death of Giuseppe Bono. On behalf of the whole port community of Trieste and Monfalcone and my personal I express my deepest condolences and human closeness to the family. Giuseppe, as an extraordinary captain of industry, In his long extraordinary career he has been able to interpret AI highest levels the image of a sector of which it has been undisputed leader and therefore testimonial of the best made in Italy. Has also knew how to enhance the historical link between port and shipbuilding which has always been strategic for our territory. There His energy, determination and foresight will be missing."