Equity and efficiency considerations for maritime transportation

Background

Due to lower profit margins and considerable climate risks, maritime transportation has been given less attention from industry and policy makers, resulting often in inefficient solutions and the degradation of shipping construction and the coastal fleet in EU.

This own-initiative opinion seeks to explore tools for the improvement of maritime transportation within the EU in conjunction with the development of a modern coastal shipping transportation industry, which would allow people and businesses to move freely and operate in the Single Market without severe obstacles.

The opinion provides several social, environmental and economic insights, related to access of local populations in remote areas, reduction of CO2 emissions via the substitution of other means of transport, and lower transaction costs for SMEs. It also leads to policy recommendations for the access of public services in unapproachable areas, incentivising relocation and stimulation of primary sector activities.

Key points

The EESC:

• underlines that the green transition of the shipping sector must take into account country-specific, sector-specific and job-specific characteristics in order to maintain Europe's competitive advantages and reduce transition gaps, inequality and the depopulation of some regions;
• advocates that State aid regulations must be carefully reviewed when it comes to the production of ships for European water transportation for the purpose of meeting population needs and tackling labour mobility in remote areas and ensuring sustainable and safe navigation and better coastal monitoring, rather than for the purpose of profitable shipping activities, which can be further developed via market instruments;
• considers that to meet the goal of accelerating the shipping industry's pace of electrification, as set out in EU regulations and the smart shipping agenda, incentives could be provided for the production and roll-out of certain digital and energy-saving technologies for the shipping transportation sector.

Additional information

Section: Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN)

Opinion number: TEN/802

Opinion type: Own-initiative

Rapporteur: Panagiotis Gkofas (Civil Society Organisations - Group III / Greece)

Co-rapporteur: Pierre Jean Coulon (Workers - Group II / France)

Date of adoption by section: 6 October 2023

Result of the vote: 67 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions

Date of adoption in plenary: 25-26 October 2023

Result of the vote: 166 in favour, 1 against, 3 abstentions

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