A4-0167/96

Resolution on the communication from the Commission on the development of short sea shipping in Europe - prospects and challenges (COM(95)0317 - C4-0297/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission Communication to the Council and the European Parliament 'The Development of Short Sea Shipping in Europe - Prospects and Challenges¨ (COM(95)0317 - C4-0297/95),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinions of the Committee on Regional Policy and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0167/96),

A. having regard to the increasing demand for transport services in recent years and the resulting serious traffic congestion and pollution on land routes; noting that road and rail traffic has enjoyed an artificially high development, for a variety of reasons,

B. whereas the demand for the transport of goods and people is likely to increase further and that transport costs play a crucial role in the ability of the European Union to compete in international trade, given the fact that these costs can reach a high percentage of the product value when it reaches the customer,

C. whereas maritime transport, in particular transport by sea over short distances, along the coast and between the mainland coasts and islands of the European Union as a form of national or cross border transport as well as sea to river and vice versa, is one of the oldest modes of transport and, as such, presents a number of advantages,

D. whereas, in view of the geographical formation of the coastline in the European Union and the opportunities open to this mode of transport, together with the limited use of infrastructure and energy, short sea shipping could develop into a more important cost-effective and environmentally friendlier mode of transport and can contribute to the economic development of the islands and peripheral regions of Europe, as well as to promoting employment,

E. whereas short sea shipping could fulfil an important role in the future transport scheme of the European Union and the requirement for greater mobility provided that intermodal transhipment capacity at ports is developed better in intermodal transport systems and within the European transport networks,

F. believing that there is great scope for the development of this mode of transport, mainly combined with other modes and linked with the transport infrastructure network,

1. Welcomes the Commission Communication as a significant step towards establishing a comprehensive common transport policy which integrates short sea shipping and the other modes of transport; insists on the need for real action to be taken in this sector;

2. Notes that, by way of action to speed up and cut the cost of cargo handling operations in ports the Commission is essentially proposing the promotion of new vessel types and cargo handling techniques; these are to be welcomed, although the actual benefits they will bring cannot yet be predicted;

3. Notes that Europe comprises approximately 35,000 kms of coastline, over 600 ports situated near industrial centres, and a significant number of inland ports accessible to short sea and sea/river vessels and that this geographical reality could be better utilized to promote short sea shipping as part of a combined, multi-modal transport system in Europe;

4. Calls on the Commission to ask the Council for a mandate to start negotiations with Russia with a view to securing free access to the inter- Russian waterway network for river-going sea ships from the EU;

5. Welcomes the in-depth analysis undertaken by the Commission in its communication and the data thus provided; on this basis, it is evident that short sea shipping is more than a simple provision of transport services and forms part of a complex system of services (multimodal transport, labour, port and other infrastructures) which has to interface efficiently;

6. Notes that any increase in the use of coastal shipping will also boost the European shipbuilding industry, as a result of which jobs will be preserved or created in coastal regions, since 50% of vessels constructed in EU shipyards are of the type used in coastal shipping;

7. Fully supports the Commission's proposal to promote short sea shipping in order to divert cargo from road and rail to sea by balancing the price advantages and subsidies enjoyed by road and rail transport and by eliminating the obstacles and hindrances which render short sea shipping more costly and/or more time-consuming;

8. Calls on the Commission to include in its action plan a number of additional measures and incentives which will further promote the flexibility of sea transport and redress the imbalance between maritime transport and land transport, firstly by liberalising completely intra-European sea transport and, secondly, by abolishing the additional administrative requirements (e.g. by customs, port authorities, etc) imposed on this mode of transport;

9. Proposes the adoption and implementation, at European Union level, of a number of positive measures to promote this mode of transport, which has in the recent past been excessively neglected; such measures should not, however, result in direct or indirect subsidies which would distort competition and should, therefore, concentrate on issues such as an improved knowledge of the potential market which could be shifted from land transport to sea transport in Europe, e.g. by improving and completing the 'corridor study¨ and on a public relations exercise advising potential users on the possibilities of short sea and sea-river transport;

10. Stresses the importance, in this context, of the introduction of advanced technologies for this mode of transport which will enable it to become part of a multimodal logistic chain and thus reduce the time needed for loading- unloading and transfer of cargoes in ports;

11. Believes that, within the port policy of the European Union, attention should be paid to a series of elements which can have a direct impact on the cost and efficiency of short sea shipping such as more transparency in port tariffs, improvement of administrative procedures, elimination of harmful monopolies; also believes that shipping services should only be required to pay for services which they actually use and which are necessary, as costs in port and port-related services are one of the major impediments in the development of short sea shipping;

12. Stresses the need, therefore:

- for the Member States - where necessary - to improve connections between ports and their hinterland,

- for the Member States or regional authorities to tailor public infrastructure measures in ports more to needs,

- for private port and transport enterprises to make proposals for improvements in the information flow between ports, the operational capability of ports and flexible access to state port services, in line with enterprises' requirements;

13. Regrets that, as regards action to improve the efficiency of ports, the Commission, almost as an aside and in an annex, draws up a general seaport policy going way beyond the promotion of short sea shipping, which is unacceptable in this form;

14. Stresses that the Commission first needs to clarify the questions of organization and structure of port administrations, the financing of public infrastructure and private 'superstructure', and the widely differing ways they are combined in the 15 Member States of the Union;

15. Considers that, until these matters have been clarified, the Commission, in order to avoid even 'desirable' distortions of competition, should refrain from individual schemes such as the secondment of experts to individual ports or sponsoring training programmes for the management staff of individual ports;

16. Calls on the Commission to urgently abolish or modify existing Community legislation on customs and veterinary inspections and formalities which hinders the transport by sea of goods and passengers or introduces counterproductive, anti-economic and discriminatory rules and procedures, such action to be immediately and directly applicable in all Member States;

17. Believes that the recent Commission's proposal on the internalisation of external costs (COM(95)0691) ((Green Paper: Towards fare and efficient pricing in transport - internalising the external cost of transport)) should create a level competition field between the different modes of transport, without a detrimental effect on European trade, and that there should be a redistribution of the costs for each mode of transport reflecting the true costs arising from the use of infrastructure and damage to the environment but not artificial costs generated by tax-oriented public authorities;

18. Draws attention to the fact that the prevailing conditions in short sea shipping, influenced by the general economic recession, have rendered it impossible to make adequate profits to replace older and unviable vessels; research and development efforts and investment should be directed towards the renewal of this segment of the fleet by safer and more cost-effective ships;

19. Reiterates its position that ferry services must be considered as a vital part of the transport network and as such should be included in the development of short sea shipping, taking into account the continuing growth in passenger transport and the ever-increasing mobility of workers and services;

20. Stresses the fact that the absence of any social aspect in the Commission's communication is a serious omission not only from the social but also the economic point of view; the recognition of the need for qualified seafarers due to the application of new technologies does not constitute a proposal on concrete measures and actions to increase the numbers of qualified and able personnel, which is a vital part of the quality and reliability of short sea shipping;

21. Calls, once again, on the Commission to propose and the Council to adopt, as a matter of urgency and priority, measures to ensure the preservation of the know-how of national seafarers and support the education, training and recruitment of qualified seafarers in the European Union;

22. Recommends that on all above action points, there should be close liaison with maritime industries through the Short Sea Panel of the Maritime Industries Forum; this should result in the establishment of a list of priorities and continuous monitoring of the relevant actions and achievements;

23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States.