Yesterday, the European Agriculture Council has concluded the procedure, at first reading concerning the Ports Regulation, by formally adopting the text. The legal Act will be signed by the European Parliament and the Council in mid-February and enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal.

This adoption has been possible because institutional stakeholders have been more receptive, than it was the case for the previous port packages, to a number of concerns expressed by key port stakeholders. It was important to make sure that this text enables port stakeholders to improve while acknowledging their role in handling millions tons of cargo carried by sea.

“FEPORT relies on Member States to guarantee that the implementation of the Ports Regulation will unleash the “enabling” potential of its provisions (recitals and articles) regarding level playing field, the prevention of risks of distortion of competition and avoidance of unsustainable investments in ports” says Ms. Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkaid, FEPORT Secretary General.

“The adoption of the Ports Regulation also creates a lot of expectations for improved port governance rules in all EU ports and for better targeted investments. Both dimensions being essential components of an enabling framework for private investments in EU ports” states Ms. Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkaid.

“It is also crucial that the ongoing procedure about the Global Block Exemption Regulation does not lead to the adoption of a text which contradicts the spirit and some key definitions that have been agreed upon in the framework of the long and exhaustive discussions about the Ports Regulation” continues FEPORT Secretary General.

“FEPORT sees in the adoption of the Ports Regulations at the very beginning of the 2017 Maritime Year as a positive acknowledgement of the significant role that port stakeholders play in connecting ships to people and EU and international markets” concludes FEPORT Secretary General.

Source: FEPORT