Dog with a port autonomy bone

This time, European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas has taken up the mantle with what has been widely viewed as a watered down version of the contentious port reform packages of a decade ago.

Any reference to dock labour has been removed – no doubt due to its ability to raise heckles regardless of intent: the attempt to liberalise ship loading and unloading in earlier versions ultimately proved to be the downfall of the whole package.

However, even the omission of dock labour reforms has raised eyebrows, most notably at the European Transport Worker’ Federation (ETF). Its officers see a hidden agenda where the liberalisation of port labour has simply been shifted down the line.

Instead, Mr Kallas has focussed on open markets, autonomy and financial transparency – all laudable aims. Indeed, if the EU can wean out the excess public funding subsidising European ports to the detriment of others, let it get cracking.

Mr Kallas’ proposals name-check Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg as the dominant European ports, but with that limited scope comes bottlenecks, congestion and ultimately additional costs.

Short sea shipping is, not for the first time, singled out as the answer to boosting unimpeded EU movements.

The figures are particularly attractive: Europe could save E10bn by 2030 if this proposal is agreed by the European Parliament.

Cool welcome

The response to Mr Kallas’ attempt to reform European ports has been muted to say the least. The European Sea Ports Organisation is widely happy with the proposals, but questions what the reforms will really mean for port autonomy. For its part, the ETF has expressed satisfaction at the diversion away from port labour organisation and that cargo-handling is excluded from market access rules. But it still has concerns on how the rules might affect workers in six other specified areas: pilotage, towage, mooring, bunkering, waste disposal and dredging.

The decision to steer clear of the controversial labour element is a wise one, and the low-key industry response reflects that. However, Mr Kallas needs to convince the European Parliament of his plans before the industry needs to really start paying attention. And this proposal has prior form on that front; previous attempts have not made it past that Parliamentary hurdle.

Will Mr Kallas break that glass ceiling to get ports through the EC machine at last? Perhaps. After all, the EC has plenty of other things on its plate at the moment to divert attention away from a diluted ports package.