Brussels, 21/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's Committee on Transport adopted, on Tuesday, a recommendation by German Christian Democrat Georg Jarzembovski (40 in favour, 10 against and 2 abstentions) on the Council's common position concerning the opening of harbour services up to competition (see EUROPE of 18 June). Among the services concerned (pilot services, tugging, mooring and handling), MEPs demand that pilot services be excluded from the scope of the directive for security and environmental reasons. They also adopted amendments aimed at protecting port workers and strengthening financial transparency when using public funding for port infrastructures. The plenary vote is foreseen for March, in Strasbourg (codecision, second reading).
In order to prevent certain handling operators from using unqualified labour to the detriment of the qualified harbour workers and professional dockers, MEPs adopted a compromise amendment strengthening the Council's common position on "self-handling" (authorisation given to operators to use their own personnel for handling operations), which stipulates that self-handling should only be authorised in strict compliance with national employment regulations.
In order to strengthen financial transparency during public funding of port infrastructures, and ensure more equitable competition conditions, MEPs call for: - an obligation to notify (and approval by Commission) public funding; - a Commission report on such funding every three years; - designation by the Commission of a consortium of independent and international experts responsible for conducting inquiries on public funding.
Finally, the parliamentary committee also calls for the duration of validity of authorisations for conducting a port service to be regulated in a uniform manner, for these authorisations to arise from a right of ownership or from a leasing contract, and for them to remain in force until expiry when the number of service providers is limited.