Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-03-Speech-3-401"
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"en.20080903.28.3-401"2
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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, along around one hundred thousand kilometres of coast in the united Europe, we have more than one thousand two hundred merchant ports, as well as several hundred more dotted along the thirty-six thousand kilometres of internal waterways. 90% of our international trade passes through them, as well as 40% of the tonnes per kilometre of intra-Community trade.
We are in communication with the Commission in order for it to publish guidelines for State aid to ports in 2008, distinguishing between access and defence infrastructures, which should be exempt, and project-related infrastructure and superstructure, and so that aid for environmental improvements or decongestions and reducing the use of roads should not be considered as State aid, or when it is essential, as in the case of islands, in order to ensure cohesion.
We approve the extension of the transparency requirements in this respect, but instead of an absolute obligation we ask for ports that do not reach a reduced minimum threshold for annual revenue to be exempted.
Finally, we support port workers being provided with a recognisable qualification and we ask the European social dialogue committee to address these issues.
Ports generate half a million jobs and guarantee the development of entire regions. They are also key for the regular passenger and ferry services, which provide social cohesion for the islands and other territories that are more easily and more sustainably reached by sea. There is therefore no doubt that we are talking about a sector that is of great importance for our well-being. Nevertheless, our ports are facing major challenges, including the increase in international demand for transport, which is increasing even faster than the rate of global economic growth.
In this context it is worth mentioning the advances in navigation technologies, logistical telecommunications and exploitation, the commitment to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, securing new investment and the need to bring training up to date for the staff that manage and deal with these aspects. However, ports also have the challenge of maintaining dialogue and coordinated action with their respective surrounding areas, neighbours, cities and regions, and to develop the best possible connections and convenience in relation to other modes of transport, for their mutual benefit and in order to seek the most harmonious and sustainable planning solutions.
The ports are also part of our internal market, and they therefore have to comply with the relevant Community parameters. The Committee on Transport and Tourism, which appointed me as rapporteur for this matter, wished to produce an own-initiative report, which, having been debated and agreed by the various groups is now being put before the plenary sitting of the European Parliament.
In our analysis we considered that the European ports policy should aim to promote competitiveness in maritime transport and the provision of
high-quality, modern services, promoting safety, fast services, low costs and respect for the environment, creating a European maritime transport space without barriers.
We believe that technological and economic progress and the widening of the Panama Canal will accentuate the current trend towards larger vessels, and will bring about changes in the international routes. We also believe that at the same time, in Europe, where there are not many ports that are deep enough to allow large vessels to operate there, there will be development of intermediate ports and also small and medium-sized ports, thus boosting cabotage and river transport.
For this future we need an integrated European policy to boost regional competitiveness and territorial cohesion, and efforts need to be redoubled to reduce water pollution and CO
emissions, therefore we are asking for the current fuel to be replaced by diesel by 2020. We need the port authorities to cooperate with each other and with the local and regional authorities and transport sector associations, not only maritime and river transport, but also rail, air and road transport.
We consider that the legal certainty of the Community legal framework in the maritime field, flowing from the international legal framework, depends on the speedy approval of the Erika III maritime package, and we ask for this to be done with the greatest of urgency and the greatest possible consensus.
European ports are sometimes in competition with ports in third countries that have discriminatory policies; we therefore need a list of bottlenecks. We understand that technological changes will have major financial implications, and that therefore the regions should also be able to use the structural funds in order to finance the acquisition of advanced technological installations, create jobs in innovative fields and rehabilitate urban areas freed up by the transfer of port facilities."@en1
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