European Seaport Policy ITMMA Antwerp, 18 November 2013 Patrick Verhoeven

Summary 1.Historical evolution 2.Port Regulation Other initiatives 4.Concluding remarks

1. Historical evolution

Jacques Delors (President European Commission ) First Transport White Paper (1992) Road to Sea policy Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T)

Neil Kinnock (Transport Commissioner ) Green Paper on Seaports and Maritime Infrastructure (1997) Basic elements Ports Policy: – Market access port services – Port financing – Infrastructure development

Loyola de Palacio (Transport Commissioner ) Port Package I (2001): – Port services Directive – Rejected 2003 Port Package II (2004): – New port services Directive – Withdrawn 2006 Second Transport Policy White Paper (2001) Ports in TEN-T (2001)

Jacques Barrot (Transport Commissioner ) Ports Policy Communication (2007) Reconciliation through ‘soft law’ approach

Siim Kallas (Transport Commissioner ) Ports Regulation proposal (2013) Third Transport Policy White Paper (2011) Full integration ports in TEN-T (2013)

2. Port Regulation 2013

Basic elements 1.Market access port services 2.Financial transparency and autonomy 3.Consultation and supervision

1) Market access Treaty principle freedom to provide services Minimum quality requirements Limitation of number of service providers Public service obligations Internal operator Guarantees for workers (transfer of undertakings) Cargo handling and passenger services are exempted from these rules

2) Financial transparency en autonomy Transparency of financial relations between government and port authority that receives public means / offers port services Pricing internal operator Pricing use of public infrastructure (port dues) Financial autonomy port authority

3) Consultation and supervision Consultation of port users Consultation of other stakeholders Independent supervisory body Cooperation between supervisory bodies

Political process + = ?

3. Other initiatives

Concessions directive

Social dialogue

EU study port labour

Pilotage Exemption Certificates

Pending cases Land lease policy Port of KlaipédaDock labour pools Spanish ports

Influence ‘Troika’

4. Concluding remarks

New proposal EU Port Regulation is not radical nor very interventionist – it supports role port authority Resistance largely based on what happened in the past (port packages) Political process seems to lead to an ‘empty box’ Will there be a ‘gouvernement des juges’ instead? Clear legal framework is in the interest of customers, service providers and port authorities Problems do not disappear by avoiding them

Patrick Verhoeven – Secretary General European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) Rue Ducale, Hertogstraat 67/2 – B-1000 Brussels – – Follow me on 27