With 585 votes in favour, 21 against and 26 abstentions, the plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday 17 January adopted a resolution calling on the European Commission and the Member States to draw up a ports strategy (see EUROPE 13310/14).
“By developing its influence in European ports, China has the opportunity to influence our policies and also to influence the trade in rare materials”, pointed out the rapporteur behind the text, Tom Berendsen (EPP, Dutch), during his presentation the previous day.
With this text, Parliament expresses its concerns about foreign influence on European infrastructures, drawing parallels with the EU’s past energy dependence on Russia. Parliament urges the EU to proactively manage external investment in order to protect its strategic transport infrastructure.
Mr Berendsen pointed out that 75% of the traffic and containers were in the hands of Hong Kong and the Chinese, not just the terminals, but also the barcode readers and cranes. “There’s a risk of espionage, sabotage and economic dependence”, he pointed out.
He also deplored the fact that European ports were competing with each other for Chinese investment and called on the Commission to regain control of port facilities.
“We need to ensure that investments from third countries do not lead to strategic dependencies and do not pose risks”, replied Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean. In her view, the current Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation provides a framework and common criteria for identifying and assessing the risks associated with the acquisition or control of strategic assets by foreign companies (see EUROPE 13327/11).
To read the resolution, go to https://aeur.eu/f/af4 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)