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the EU commission proposes a first normative detailed list for the harbour field and the potenziamento of 319 ports
the objective is to allow with the ports to develop to services and infrastructures and to guarantee a greater autonomy financial institution to the Harbour Authorities
May 23, 2013
Today the EU commission has proposed an initiative in order to modernize the 319 main marine ports of the EU, of which 83 included in the central net (Core Networks) and 236 in the total net (comprehensive Networks) of the transeuropea net of transport TRIES so as defined from the Commission, harbour ports of call that altogether enliven 96% of the goods and 93% of the passengers who journey altogether through all ports of the EU. The proposal indicates lines guides and shows legislative modifications with the objective to allow with these ports to upgrade services and infrastructures supplying they also greater autonomy financial institution.
It will be be a matter of the first normative European detailed list dedicated to the harbour field. According to Brussels, the proposed new legislative, that it will have to be approved of from the European Parliament and the Member States before being adopted the ordinary procedure second, could allow a saving for the European economy until 10 billion euros within 2030 and would contribute to develop to new marine connections short beam generating an increment between 4% and 8% of this modality of transport.
"The marine ports - it has emphasized Siim Kallas, vice president of the EU commission and commissioner for Mobility and the transports - are vital points of access, that they connect our corridors of transport to the remainder of the world. We possess already some of best harbour infrastructures of the world. It is necessary to conserve them, but we find ourselves in front of strong difficulties in terms of congestion, increase of the traffic and investments". The EU commission in fact has evidenced that 74% of the goods arrive or leave from Europe for sea, but of these fifth journeys currently for single three ports: Rotterdam, Amburgo and Antwerp. This imbalance - it has found the Commission - involves a congestion, with additional costs for shippers, operators of transport let alone for the consumers. "We must equip other ports - Kallas has explained - of infrastructures of the same qualitative level: the proposals today will lead the harbour services of Europe in XXI the century, will contribute to attract investments and to create job here where it is more necessary".
The EU commission has proposed in the first place procedures more transparent and opened in order to designate the suppliers of harbour services. According to Brussels, the normative new will prevent eventual tariff abuses by operators who enjoy sole rights. The proposal among other things previews the institution of an advisory committee of the harbour users. The Commission has specified that "the relative proposal to the ports applies the general principle of the free supply of services, without some discrimination, and will align the harbour field to the other ways of transport and the operation of the home market" and has specified that the details will be developed to local level, so that the harbour communities can make use of a better coordination and than a healthier atmosphere for the enterprises.
Sul forehead of the improvement of the connections between the ports and the outback, the proposal previews that the financings of the EU in the picture of the "Mechanism in order to connect Europe" are oriented mainly on the characterized harbour projects in the relative plans to the corridors TRY to priority financing and on the connections between ports and railroads, navigable ways and roads. An active role of the Harbour Authorities will be encouraged also, for example supplying information on the traffic flows.
Moreover the proposal widens the faculty of the ports levy tax for the use of infrastructures, guaranteeing also greater autonomy on the allocation of the resources, and on how strengthens the transparency of fixation of such taxes and on the use of the financings publics. "The Harbour Authorities in fact - it has explained the Commission - are in the better position in order to characterize the requirements of the users and to define taxations. Moreover, a greater transparency will allow to distribute public funds without undue distortions of competition and will contribute to attract private investor. The ports will be also in a position to reducing the taxes for the more efficient ships under the environmental profile". "Supplying to the Harbour Authorities greater autonomy in order to establish and to collect taxes for I use it of infrastructures - it has observed the Commission - they will have put up possibility to guarantee the good operation of the port". Brussels has clarified that "the greater autonomy of management of the ports will be compensated by the control by an independent authority that policemen on the competition loyal and the coordination of the harbour developments and on a national level European".
The Commission has announced moreover that the next month will create a "Committee of social dialogue for the ports" in order to afford to the workers and the employers to discuss and to decide on relative issues to the harbour working activity. The Commission will supply technical support and administrative to the work of the committee and of it will estimate the progresses in 2016.
The new proposed legislative on the ports is part integrating of a proposed wider action plan from the EU commission that previews eight initiatives that the Commission would have to put into effect in the next few years in order to support the competitiveness of the ports: the first action previews "to use the future structures of corridor of the new guidelines for the development of the net TRIES to the aim to characterize the priority investments in the within of the program "European Connecting Facility" in order to connect the ports to the railroad, the navigable ways and the roads and in order to stimulate the ports to supply information on the traffic flows that allow a better organization of the intermodal logistics.
The second action previews that the EU commission, collaborating with the Member States, strengthens "the alignment of the projects in matter of transports financed from the structural Bottoms and of cohesion in the within of the net IT TRY, giving priority to the relative projects to the access to the port and the connections with the outback". Moreover, "the same approach face to guarantee the coherence of the investments will be applied to other sources of financing of the EU, as the loans available through BEAUTIFUL and the other instruments of loans of the EU".
The third measure previews a verification of the corrected application of the future directive on the concessions and the contracts publics in the harbour field. For the contracts that do not re-enter in such directives - it has specified the Commission - it will be necessary "to verify that the principles of parity of sanctioned from the treaty and interpreted treatment and transparency from the Law court are applied correctly in the harbour field".
The fourth action previews "to promote the administrative simplification in the ports, being realized the efforts undertaken with the following initiatives: "blue belt" that it simplifies the customs procedures in the ports; performance harmonized and coherent of the only national doors; initiative "And-maritime" (I use of electronic information in order to reduce the administrative burdens and to carry out entrepreneurial activities); initiative "e-Freight" that it intends to facilitate the long exchange of information the multimodali logistic chains and that important multimodali platforms will contribute to improve the efficiency of the ports which".
The fifth action previews "to clarify the application of the norms of the EU in matter of aids of State in the harbour field". The Commission has remembered of being currently engaged to update own norms in matter of aids of Been about to all the economic fields and has specified that it will clarify the concept of aid within the end of 2013 regarding the financing of infrastructures, in particular to light of the evolution of the jurisprudence of the Law court.
The sixth action is time to do so as that "the adaptation to the changes is discussed, where opportune, with the social parts in the within of the European social dialogue". "The social parts of the EU - Brussels has remembered - already have agreed internal regulations and a program of opened common job and attend the formal institution of the committee on June 19, 2013. The Commission will offer a support to the job of the committee and of it will estimate the progresses in 2016".
The seventh measure previews "to promote the innovation, to monitor the performances let alone to examine and to discuss the requirements in matter about human resources, comprised the health and safety, and the challenges in the within of the formation and the qualification in the ports of the EU". In particular, "in the within of the Seventh program picture of research & development for transport, within the end of the 2013 Commission it will start two projects at the level of the EU that will examine such issues".
At last the eighth action previews “to support a more coherent application of the rights for uses it of infrastructures differentiated according to the environmental performances”. To such fine the Commission will propose principles of rate making environmental and promuoverà the exchange of good praxis within 2015.
European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has expressed satisfaction for the proposal of regulations of the EU commission on the access at the market of the harbour services and on the transparency financial institution so as for the new communication of the Commission on harbour politics and has evidenced that “both the initiatives value the important role that the ports carry out for the European economy”.
The association of the European ports however has expressed worry for “the possible implications that the regulations proposal can have on the autonomy of the Harbour Authorities”: “we appreciate the fact - the general secretary of ESPO, Patrick Verhoeven has emphasized - than the Commission intends to recognize the central role of the Harbour Authorities and we support the dispositions of the regulations that aim to create a greater transparency financial institution. Meanwhile we are worried for the competences that the regulations attribute to other authorities and for the impact that some of the proposed procedures can have on the freedom of commerce of the ports and on their ability to invest”.
Finding that the proposal of regulations advanced from the Commission at the market excludes the services of handling of goods and passengers from the norms on the access, ESPO has specified that “to such care more a not legislative total approach would be balanced and proportional, that covers all the harbour services”.
ESPO will face the specific topics of the proposed new of the EU commission in the course of the shareholders' meeting of the association that will hold next 29 May to Vahrn, with confronts with the interested parts, to which it will follow in the weeks next a detailed analysis of the proposed new: “then - it has announced Verhoeven - we will formulate a series of concrete recommendations for the future debate near the Parliament and the Council”.
The marine ports are beyond 1.200 commercial operate along about 70.000 kilometers of coasts of the European Union. In 2011 through these harbour ports of call they are journeyed about 3,7 billion tons of goods. In the 22 marine States of the EU, currently 2,200 harbour operators appoint to a job about 110.000 harbour workers. Altogether the ports generate 1,5 million direct places of work and this number salt to three million if the induced one is estimated also. The EU commission has remembered that within the 2030 an increase of 50% of the goods enlivened in the ports of the EU is previewed.
The list of the 319 ports (for nation) object of the proposed new of the EU commission
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Today the EU commission has proposed an initiative in order to modernize the 319 main marine ports of the EU, of which 83 included in the central net (Core Networks) and 236 in the total net (comprehensive Networks) of the transeuropea net of transport TRIES so as defined from the Commission, harbour ports of call that altogether enliven 96% of the goods and 93% of the passengers who journey altogether through all ports of the EU. The proposal indicates lines guides and shows legislative modifications with the objective to allow with these ports to upgrade services and infrastructures supplying they also greater autonomy financial institution.
- Via Raffaele Paolucci 17r/19r - 16129 Genoa - ITALY
