It notes that this “may violate the rules of competition with varying degrees of intensity in those areas that affect the commercial or economic work of the ports”.
The main objective of the agreement prepared by the Basque Government was to establish a framework for collaboration that would contribute “to improving the competitiveness of the Basque port system and further develop and utilise their potential”.
The National Port Authority was also uneasy with parts of the protocol, which it said could be interpreted as a market sharing agreement. It was particularly concerned by the intention to coordinate actions to improve ports, facilitate joint optimisation strategies, exploit synergies to streamline flows and promote collaborative management to make it more efficient and sustainable.