On Thursday 7 December, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) unanimously adopted (39 votes) a draft resolution on the development of a comprehensive European ports strategy (see EUROPE 13210/21).
MEPs are calling for a European ports summit to explore ways of strengthening cooperation between European ports to this end. They also call on the European Commission to present a comprehensive European ports strategy by the end of 2024.
Prepared by the rapporteur, Tom Berendsen (EPP, Dutch), the text stresses that ports play a crucial role in the economy, providing jobs, facilitating foreign trade, the energy transition and decarbonisation. They have also played an important role in EU crisis management, establishing short-term alternative routes for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and helping to increase gas storage in Europe.
MEPs note that strengthening the economic position of EU ports is crucial to limiting foreign influence, particularly from China, and security risks. They fear that container transhipment activities will move to non-European ports as a result of attempts to evade the implementation of EU rules on the Emissions Trading System and Sustainable Maritime Fuels (ETS) (see EUROPE 13309/5). This behaviour should be detected and banned, they stress.
They also point out that China prohibits EU shipping companies from carrying out cabotage operations between Chinese ports, whereas this is not the case for Chinese companies operating in EU ports, and urge the Commission to guarantee reciprocity.
The resolution will be put to the plenary vote in January.
Read the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/a2c (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)