In view of the upcoming EU elections, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has set its priorities for the next five years.<\/p>\n
The world is in transition, ports are in transition. More than ever, ports are strategic entities and enablers of Europe\u2019s ambitions and its sustainable, digital, competitive, strong and social future. Ports want to be part of the solution and are taking up new responsabilities on top of their traditional role as multimodal hub in the supply chain.<\/p>\n
Entitled\u00a0\u201ca net-zero, smart, resilient and competitive Europe: Europe\u2019s ports are part of the solution\u201d,\u00a0ESPO\u2019s memorandum\u00a0outlines\u00a0nine priorities:<\/p>\n
1. Focus on\u00a0implementation: Europe\u2019s ports ask policymakers to provide clarity and support to ports to ensure the effective implementation of existing regulations. In this context, incoherences or conflicting policies should be addressed.<\/p>\n
2. Give ports the\u00a0space to take up their role as facilitator of renewable energy. The energy transition will require space in ports; Permitting barriers should be removed; Ports should be actively considered when relevant energy policies, circular economy and carbon strategies are being developed; Riskier pioneering energy investments should be financially supported.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0Reducing emissions and pollution is an important KPI for ports:\u00a0Ports in Europe want an agreement on a well-defined global maritime GHG emission pricing mechanism; ports should be allowed to prioritise green investments where it makes most sense in terms of emission reduction; a continuous dialogue with stakeholders is needed to avoid stranded assets; the new 90% GHG emission reduction target must be seen as a stepping stone towards 2050.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0The level playing field both within the internal market and vis-\u00e0-vis Europe\u2019s neighbours must be safeguarded:\u00a0Ports plead for a \u201cdo not harm competitiveness check\u201d in EU policy making; equal access and conditions to funding is key, diverging national approaches should be avoided; boosting net-zero industries implies reinforcing the relevant supply chains; the fair power play and level playing field\u00a0within the maritime sector should be monitored closely.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0Ports are pivotal in strengthening Europe\u2019s resilience:\u00a0Ports are an important pillar of Europe\u2019s supply chain sovereignty; ports are in favour of a more harmonised approach to address foreign influence in ports; Europe must however remain an attractive place to invest; EU security measures should not stop trade, but make it safer.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0Ports are partners in striving for a smart, but safe and secure cyber environment:\u00a0Digitalisation and smart technologies are crucial tools in making Europe\u2019s ports more efficient, safe and sustainable; additional measures to step up\u00a0cybersecurity and further digitalisation might be needed; raising awareness of possible cyber risks is a shared responsibility among all port stakeholders.<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0Europe\u2019s ports require 80 billion investment needs for the next 10 years:\u00a0Ports more than ever need access to a robust funding support instrument, with dedicated port envelopes, to invest in projects with high societal value but an often slow, low and risky return on investment; European funding should be simple;<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0The EU institutional structure should be adapted to the new reality: A more integrated approach is needed when developing new policies: transport, and in particular ports, cannot be discussed in isolation; a closer cooperation between Commission DGs is needed; a continuous, transparent and open dialogue between stakeholders and EU policy makers is needed to tackle the complexity of today\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n
9.\u00a0Ports are a resource for the city:\u00a0Their new roles can open doors for attracting new businesses and talents to the port and port cities; effective cooperation between all stakeholders is needed to attract people to the port, since ports cannot do the job without the right people.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0priorities of Europe\u2019s ports<\/a>\u00a0will be further discussed during the annual\u00a0ESPO Conference<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0taking place on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 April in Paris. If you would like to join these discussions, book now and secure one of the last tickets for this annual highlight of the European port industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In view of the upcoming EU elections, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has set […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":237658,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,302],"tags":[307],"class_list":["post-239189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritimes-news","category-ports-maritimes-news","tag-featured-en"],"yoast_head":"\n