A4-0375/98

Resolution on the Commission's Green Paper on sea ports and maritime infrastructure (COM(97)0678 - C4-0022/98)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission Green Paper (COM(97)0678 - C4-0022/98),

- having regard to its resolution of 11 March 1994 on a common policy on safe seas ((OJ C 91, 28.3.1994, p. 301.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 18 June 1996 on the Commission communication on the development of short sea shipping in Europe - prospects and challenges ((OJ C 198, 8.7.1996, p. 44.)),

- having regard to European Parliament and Council Decision No 1692/96/EC of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network ((OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 13 March 1997 on the Commission communication on 'Shaping Europe's maritime future - a contribution to the competitiveness of maritime industries' ((OJ C 115, 14.4.1997, p. 147.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 24 April 1997 on the Commission communication 'Towards a new maritime strategy' ((OJ C 150, 19.5.1997, p. 52.)),

- having regard to the conclusions drawn at the Conference on the future prospects of European sea ports organised by the Commission and held in Barcelona on 7 and 8 May 1998,

- having regard to the Commission White Paper on Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use: A phased approach to a common transport infrastructure charging framework in the EU (COM(98)0466),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinions of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy and the Committee on Regional Policy (A4-0375/98),

A. whereas, although it is generally acknowledged that a precise definition of a sea port is hard to draw up, sea ports may be described primarily as commercial areas located beside water deep enough for sea-going vessels and having several or many port undertakings; whereas they have special maritime as well as conventional road and rail infrastructure, and whereas they are supervised or administered by a public or private port authority,

B. whereas sea ports, in their role as interfaces between seaborne and land-based modes of transport, are used primarily for the handling, storage and distribution of goods - usually as part of logistic chains - and for both domestic and foreign trade and the transport of passengers both within and between Member States and to and from third countries,

C. whereas rules on sea ports, given their location and functions, fall within the Community's terms of reference, and specifically those relating to the common transport policy pursuant to Articles 74 et seq. of the EC Treaty, the trans-European transport network pursuant to Articles 129d et seq. of the EC Treaty and its general responsibility, for example, for the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services pursuant to Articles 52 et seq. and 59 et seq. of the EC Treaty and for competition and aid legislation pursuant to Articles 85 et seq. and 92 et seq. of the EC Treaty,

D. whereas rules on sea ports must always respect the subsidiarity principle pursuant to Article 3b of the EC Treaty because of the major differences in their geographical and topographical situation, ownership structure, institutional and organisational structure, method of operation and importance to the Community and the Member States,

E. whereas the European Community should therefore gradually develop and implement no more than an objectively limited, but effective, European sea port policy, designed in particular to ensure fair competition and strengthen Europe's international position,

F. whereas the Commission¨s Green Paper forms a valuable basis for a Community-wide debate on ways of achieving greater transparency with regard to conditions of competition among and within sea ports, and of rapidly reducing distortions of competition in the Community; and whereas on that basis a full inventory of sea port structures and their funding should be drawn up as the starting point for further action,

G. whereas the Commission¨s other objectives can be endorsed and the Community should support the sea ports in their efforts to become more effective and competitive - among themselves and with sea ports in the other continents - and to improve their integration into the trans-European transport networks; whereas increasing account should be taken in this context of the integration of the applicant countries' sea ports into the networks,

H. whereas, if there is to be sustainable mobility, the pressure on road transport in the Community must be eased by moving more towards sea, short sea shipping, river, inland waterway and rail transport; whereas the Community should therefore promote the decentralised development of its territory radially from the periphery with effective and competitive sea ports, by simple and efficient administrative and customs procedures and by rapidly developing their links with the hinterland,

I. whereas the expansion of sea ports, an increase in their efficiency and voluntary forms of cooperation between ports and/or port undertakings may and should also help to promote the peripheral areas of the Community and the maritime regions and to improve social cohesion, balanced regional planning and environmental conditions in general, although promotion by the Community for or in individual sea ports must not exceed a level above which fair competition among and within the Community's sea ports would be adversely affected,

J. whereas for the development of European ports and their incorporation into the trans-European transport network provision should be made for strategic environmental impact assessments so as to ensure, inter alia, that existing port infrastructures can be used as efficiently as possible through the installation of new technology, for example,

K. whereas safety and environmental standards in ports should be harmonised at a sufficiently high level for sustainable development and the implementation of IMO and ILO conventions in European ports should be strictly monitored,

1. Calls on the Commission to submit without delay a study, perhaps initially limited to sea ports with an annual transshipment volume of at least 10 million tonnes of freight, on the structures of sea ports, distinguishing - in terms of costs and financing as well as other factors - between the port authority, expenditure on port infrastructure and port undertakings, with a view to making the conditions of competition among and within European ports transparent; requests the Commission to submit a proposal for a specific sea port transparency directive by analogy with Directive 91/440/EEC ((OJ L 237, 24.8.1991, p. 25.)) on railways if it proves impossible for the Member States and the sea ports to supply comprehensive data on a voluntary basis;

2. Requests the Commission to monitor aid to and competition among all sea ports and port undertakings effectively and in the same way and to draw up without delay - rather than waiting until the year 2001 - a proposal for clear Commission guidelines limited to essentials on the monitoring of aid to and competition among sea ports and to consult Parliament and the Council on it before a decision is taken;

3. Recommends the Commission to break port and maritime infrastructure down into the following three categories for the assessment of public financing:

a) public port infrastructure measures (i.e. infrastructure accessible to all users),

b) port infrastructure measures for undertakings,

c) port superstructure measures related to undertakings;

4. Recommends the Commission to treat the public financing of port and maritime infrastructure in the three categories proposed in paragraph 3 as follows:

a) public port infrastructure measures do not constitute state aid within the meaning of Article 92 of the EC Treaty,

b) port infrastructure measures for undertakings do not constitute state aid if financed at cost level; otherwise, they are subject to the provisions of aid legislation that concern notification, monitoring and prohibition,

c) port superstructure measures for undertakings are always subject to the provisions of aid legislation that concern notification, monitoring and prohibition; public financing is always ruled out unless publicly managed ports or port operations accord with the market participant principle and unless the exceptional circumstances defined in Article 92(2) and (3) of the EC Treaty obtain, provided that fair competition among and within the Community's sea ports is not adversely affected;

5. Takes the view that operating aid for undertakings of or in sea ports is inadmissible;

6. Is convinced that the yardsticks for action proposed in paragraphs 4 and 5 also form the limits to national and Community financing for sea ports in the context of the Structural and Cohesion Funds and the relevant Commission guidelines; also shares the Commission's view that a balance must be found between the goals of regional policy and the need to prevent undesirable distortions of competition between ports;

7. Is at present opposed - especially with a view to the fulfilment of the requests set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 as a matter of priority - to the adoption of a Community framework/directive concerning charges for sea port infrastructure and of a Community framework/directive concerning port fees and/or terminal fees; looks to the Commission to ensure that arrangements in the Member States for infrastructure funding and charging are designed to produce fair competition;

8. Sees no need - for the moment at least - for Community legislation on organisational structure and market access for port services; calls on the Commission instead to ensure, within the limits of its present terms of reference, market access for new port undertakings at all the Community's sea ports on the basis of transparency, non-discriminatory public service obligations and high safety standards;

9. Requests the Commission, with regard to such maritime services as pilotage, towage and mooring, to be strict in its monitoring of the monopoly held by a single supplier in each case, if for reasons of demand or safety the services cannot be opened up, to use its existing powers to open up market access where its liberalisation is objectively possible, a requirement being that the various providers of maritime services be subject to identical or equivalent obligations and, if the Commission is unsuccessful in this respect, to submit a proposal for a directive concerning market access for maritime services;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

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