Brussels, 28/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - At its plenary in Brussels on 15/16 December, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion by the Director of the International and European Affairs Department of the Greek Shipbuilders' Union, Anna Bredima Savopoulou, the application of competition rules to maritime transport (on which the Commission has published a White Paper), warning of a legal vacuum and urging the Commission to carefully study the impact of abolishing the current legal framework (known as maritime conferences). In response to the Commission's White Paper on the application of competition rules to maritime transport, the EESC's Opinion warns the Commission of a legal vacuum. Generally, the EESC welcomed the Commissions White Paper initiative and the brainstorming exercise that was launched, but EESC sees the risk that a simple abolishment of the existing regulation and the end of the block exemption would have serious repercussions: third country agreements would have to be renegotiated and the EU legal framework in the area would have to be thoroughly amended.
The EESC asks the Commission to undertake a study of the required changes, which could reveal that a deregulation of the liner market would have no real added value. The EESC recommends that the existing framework be replaced by a new Commission regulation for liner conferences, granting a block exemption to competition rules for a transitional period. The Commission should use this interim period to closely monitor the liner market developments. The EESC welcomes the Commission's proposals regarding the treatment of tramp and cabotage services. Nevertheless, the Commission should provide legal guidance regarding the self-assessment of bulk pools and specialised trades, notes the EESC.
Maritime conferences are groups providing regular international freight shipping services, usually between Europe and the North America or the Far East. (The EESC's Opinion can be found at http://www.esc.eu.int )