Brussels, 28/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 17 April, the Port Authorities of Venice, Trieste, Ravenna and Koper (Slovenia) signed a memorandum of understanding which guarantees cooperation between the four ports in order to create a single multiport gateway for ships sailing in the Adriatic Sea. The agreement, which is open to all other ports in the region, provides for: - harmonisation and coordination of respective port policies; - strengthened links from North Adriatic port infrastructure to European transport corridors; - the establishment of a network of North Adriatic port community systems linked by means of the internet; - the creation of a one-stop shop guaranteeing coordination of the various forms of transport used in the ports; - support for the Adriatic-Baltic corridor which is part of the Trans-European Network for Transport to further develop north-south transport routes in Europe which are currently being hampered by development of west-east routes.
In practice, the four ports will act as a single unit for short and long distance transport of goods and passengers. Cooperation is then expected to facilitate implementation of a single-window guaranteeing inter-modality between the ports and hinterland and logistics. The agreements was signed during the “Articulating the North Adriatic Multi-port Gateway” seminar organised on the same day in Venice and attended by the European Coordinator for Motorways of the Sea, Luis Valente De Oliveira. (A.By)