Brussels, 13/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - European Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has expressed confidence in the future of her new draft directive that will open port services up to competition in around 400 European ports. The text adopted on Wednesday by the College (see EUROPE of 13 October, p.11, and 15 September, p.11) "is better put together than the first version" rejected by the European Parliament a year ago, she told the press. According to the Commissioner, the new proposal is the "result of consultation with all the parties".
Whereas the employers, trade unions and port authorities called for adoption of the text to be delayed, Commissioner de Palacio says that "it is more urgent than timely" for the development of maritime transport and for the promotion of modes of transport that can be used as alternatives to road transport. "If one looks at the facts", Ms de Palacio says, trade unions should support the directive which, while increasing competition and the supply of services, will also generate new jobs. "Trade unions will always have fears to express but the text meets their concerns", she said.
In practice, the proposal for a directive allows shipowners to use their on-board personnel for loading and unloading vessels on cross-ocean links and their on-board personnel for vessels carrying out cabotage or following the new motorways of the sea. Such "self-handling" by crews will therefore concern short haul transport, i.e. about 40% of European maritime freight traffic. Such a restriction should, Ms de Palacio says, reassure dockers. Also, she commented, Article 7.3.c of the directive aims to restrict social dumping by specifying that both Community and national social legislation in force must be complied with.
No, there will be no sharp rise in prices, Loyola de Palacio insists. She recalled that, when there was a similar proposal concerning airports, they were told there would be security problems, but there were not. She went on to say that there was also talk of employment problems but it was not true. Liberalisation, she continued, was an instrument for developing airport services and for creating jobs.
Commissioner de Palacio also believes her new proposal strikes a better balance than the previous draft concerning the duration of authorisations. In the 36 months following adoption of the directive, all the authorisations already granted should be reviewed by port authorities. If the authorisations were issued in the context of a call for tenders, then the situation will not change. If, on the other hand, the authorisations were directly attributed without competition, then a new selection procedure should be organised. A company non-suited may call for compensation for investment already made and which has not as yet paid for itself. Concessions may be attributed for 8, 12 or 30 years according to the nature of investment made.
These provisions are a cause for concern for the ESPO association, which represents the European port authorities and administrations. The former version of the directive was more in line with the law and the expectations of service providers who made investment, ESPO Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven commented. As the political debate will last 2 or 3 years, why not force through the proposal without continuing consultation, he asked. Such hastiness concerns the port administrations all the more as they will be faced with more social tension, he said. The same note was sounded by the ETF (European Transport Workers' Federation). Eduardo Chagas, ETF Secretary Dockers Section, commented saying: "We have had informal meetings but no further consultation with the Commission". In his view, it was not urgent to adopt a text against the stance taken by the employers or trade unions of the sector, just to please the shipowners. He said: "Is it really because of the two or three ports where the use of a pool of dockers is compulsory that maritime transport does not work? I do not think so".