EXCLUSIVE: Driving a comprehensive EU port strategy

The Communication – a non-legislative text – that is in preparation is meant to be comprehensive – no less than 25 Directorate Generals of the Commission are involved in the making off this document, expected to be released by the end of this year. 

In the coming months in ESPO, we will try to positively contribute to the development of an EU Strategy. We see the broad interest and wide scope of involvement in the Commission for making such a Strategy as a sign of acknowledgment of the comprehensive and important role of ports  in making Europe more resilient, sustainable and competitive.   

Enormous challenge

Europe is facing enormous challenges, which require the continent to step up its resilience in many different ways: Climate, economic and, last but not least, geopolitical. In all these fields, the landscape has been changing drastically over the last years, The risks to address have become bigger and the interlinkage between the different challenges cannot be ignored. 

Ports are at the centre of these challenges and are, at the same time, instrumental in facing those. Giving their strategic, multifaceted and crucial role as logistic hubs and gates to trade, industrial clusters, hubs of energy and crucial partners in enhancing Europe’s geopolitical resilience and military preparedness, ports need the tools to take on their responsibility and need to be supported.

But ports are also particularly vulnerable and can become a primary target for those who want to damage Europe’s economy or society and Europe’s future prosperity. So they need to be protected. Hence, what strategy is needed?

I think the strategy should be an opportunity for a deep reflection on how ports can be strengthened, how the current policies must be implemented and how these will already help ports in their way forward. The strategy must also be considered as a tool to explain the positive role of ports, what they can do and are doing for Europe’s economy and society. The strategy should also bring more clarity in the responsibilities of all the respective stakeholders in improving the performance of ports, both in terms of sustainability, decarbonisation and efficiency.

Mission driven

Ports in Europe have a hybrid character, combining public interests and responsibilities with commercial interests. In accordance with this latter role, they pay taxes like any other economic player on the continent.

Ports are mission-driven and maximising their profits is often far from being their first and main driver. But this should not mean that they have to pay the emission bills from their customers and stakeholders. Ports help their customers and the port stakeholders and enable investors to make progress, yet they should not have to accommodate everything without any engagement – be it financial or non-financial – of the relevant stakeholders that benefit from the investments and efforts being made by the port managing bodies.

Furthermore, the strategy should  look at how to ensure the competitiveness of Europe’s ports in a global context. Ships can move, ports cannot. The recently introduced Emission Trading Scheme for shipping has showed the limits and adverse impacts of a regional measure for a globally operating sector.

Europe has to further pursue its ambitions and front runners position, yet must also look for workable solutions in that context. Policies that are putting Europe’s own ports at a competitive disadvantage compared to the neighbouring ports, while not reducing emissions, should be avoided.

Finally, to maintain their role as engines of growth, port managing bodies face enormous investments, which hopefully can lead to attracting other investments, both EU and non-EU investments.

The current geopolitical turmoil obliges governments to assess foreign investments in strategic and critical infrastructure in a different way. More caution is required. The Commission’s proposal regarding foreign direct investment screening is responding to that concern. We should work with this proposal and see how it works in practice.

We must reflect well on keeping the balance between protecting ports as strategic assets in the new geopolitical context and remaining attractive for trustworthy investors, as investments are crucial for a port to develop and to be able to play its comprehensive and critical role. At the same time, the Union must intensify its efforts to invest in ports and refrain from burdensome regulatory and permitting restrictions that deter any well-intended investor.  

To conclude, we highly appreciate the attention that will be given to ports by the new Commission and hope this will result in a strategic document to support ports in their endeavors and their engagement. We also hope the strategy will lead to a better understanding of the comprehensive and strategic role of ports and their added value for Europe. 

We do hope, however, the strategy is not being reduced to a list of future legislative proposals that are limiting the ports’ armlength and ambition to help Europe delivering on its sustainable, geopolitical and growth ambitions.