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EC Ports Policy Consultation II‘Port Service Enhancement’

ESPO General AssemblyHotel Amigo, Brussels – 7 November 2012

Summary

1. Timeframe

2. Context and aim

3. Structure of the survey

4. Assessment of policy measures

5. What is missing ?

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1. Timeframe

Oct 2011 Announcement ports policy review in White Paper

Summer 2012 1st stakeholder consultation (‘port service challenges’)

25-26 Sept 2012 EC Ports Policy Conference Brussels

3 Oct 2012 Single Market Act II (confirms ports policy + blue belt)

29 Oct-16 Dec 2012 2nd stakeholder consultation (‘port service enhancement’)

Jan 2013 Proposals to impact assessment board

Spring 2013 New Ports Policy Communication + …

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You are here !

2. Context and aim

• Broader context ports policy review (‘three pillars’):– Infrastructure: TEN-T– Administrative facilitation: Blue Belt– Transparency and port services: actual focus ports policy review

• Results first survey:– Challenges are specific and diversified– Untapped potential for improvement (30% says ‘it can get better’)– Improvement needed to cope with expected growth

• Aim second survey is to seek views on:– Objectives to be pursued at EU level– Possible policy measures to achieve the objectives– Related impacts of the proposed policy measures

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3. Structure of the survey1. Identification of the stakeholder

2. Assessment of policy objectives2.1. General objectives

2.2. Operational objectives

- on efficiency of port services

- on quality of port services

3. Cost and time spent for port services

4. Assessment of policy measures

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• Twelve categories of potential measures• For each category, a series of potential measures: to what

extent are these ‘appropriate’ ?• For each potential measure:

– Qualitative impact on port costs, quality of port services, maritime safety, attraction of private investments, impact on SMEs that provide port services, employment and job creation, skill and quality of labour force, health and safety of port workers, administrative burden for public authorities, administrative burden for port authorities / port managers, administrative burden for port service providers, environmental performance, other impacts

– Quantitative impact on port investments, transport costs, administrative burden for your own business

– Information on any other possible impact

4. Assessment of policy measures

1. Measures to ensure that the port service market is open for fair competition in all EU Member States

2. Measures to define a common approach to public service obligations in ports

3. Measures to harmonise and clarify national administrative conditions on market entry

4. Measures to ensure transparency of financial relations between public authorities and port authorities

5. Measures to ensure that port service charges are set in a transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate way

6. Measures to ensure a sustainable functioning of the port labour market

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7. Measures to establish a common approach to quality requirements for port service providers

8. Measures to improve the users satisfaction with coordination of port services in the port

9. Measures to facilitate the measurement and monitoring of port performance

10.Measures to improve conditions related to training and qualification of workers

11. Measures to improve conditions related to health and safety of workers

12.Measures to ensure adequate guarantees in the event of the transfer of staff in the case of transfer of undertakings

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1. Measures to ensure that the port service market is open for fair competition in all EU Member States

A. Completely open the port service market to competition in ALL European ports

B. Completely open the port service market to competition only in TEN-T ports

C. Open the port service market to a limited number of port service providers, for a specific number of port services in ALL European ports

D. Open the port service market to a limited number of port service providers, for a specific number of port services in TEN-T ports

E. Impose public tendering of contracts in case of publicly owned ports?

Other

For measures C and/or D, indicate which services could be subject to a restricted competition: pilotage, towage, mooring, dredging, icebreaking (could qualify as ‘services of general economic interest’)

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2. Measures to define a common approach to public service obligations in ports

A. Define Public Service Obligations (PSOs) on the basis of general legal and economic principles

B. Define Public Service Obligations (PSOs) with a list of compliance criteria at EU level

Other

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3. Measures to harmonise and clarify national administrative conditions on market entry

A. Establish guidelines for Member States on authorisation requirements

B. Set-up a national authorisation procedure

C. Set-up a European authorisation procedure

Other

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4. Measures to ensure transparency of financial relations between public and port authorities

A. Ensure that separate accounts for public service obligations, in line with the principles of activity based accounting, are kept by port service operators

B. Ensure that separate accounts are kept by port authorities for statutory and commercial functions and that generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are used

C. Unbundle the port authority’s commercial tasks from the tasks performed on behalf of the State

Other

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5. Measures to ensure that port service charges are set in a transparent, non-discriminatory and

proportionate way

A. Introduce guidelines for establishing transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate port services charges

B. Define at EU level binding criteria to establish transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate port service charges

Other

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6. Measures to ensure a sustainable functioning of the port labour market

A. Encourage social dialogue on the access to the port labour market

B. Ensure that general labour rules are applied in the ports

Other:

Confirm / enforce the principle that service providers in ports should have full freedom in engaging qualified personnel of their own choice and employ them under the conditions required by the service, provided all applicable social and safety legislation is respected.

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7. Measures to establish a common approach to quality requirements for port service providers

A. Establish minimum quality requirements for port service providers at EU level

B. Impose the definition of minimum quality requirements for port service providers at port level

Other

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8. Measures to improve the users satisfaction with coordination of port services in the port

A. Entrust the port authority / port manager as the coordinator for port services at port level and clarify its role, including the enforcement of minimum quality requirements

B. Introduce a port users committee in which all the port users are gathered at a strategic level and at regular intervals

Other

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9. Measures to facilitate the measurement and monitoring of port performance

A. Establish guidelines defining the data requirements for port performance measurement

B. Establish a national measurement scheme for port performance in the form of a national port observatory

C. Establish a European measurement scheme for port performance in the form of a port observatory

D. Clarify legal requirements on the collection of statistical data in ports

Other

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10. Measures to improve conditions related to training and qualification of workers

A. Provide Member States with guidance on training and qualification for port workers

B. Establish compulsory minimum training and qualifications standards for port workers

C. Encourage social dialogue on training and qualifications standards for port workers

Other

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11. Measures to improve conditions related to health and safety of workers

A. Provide Member States with guidance on health and safety for port workers

B. Establish compulsory minimum health and safety standards for port workers

C. Encourage social dialogue on health and safety standards for port workers

Other

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12. Measures to ensure adequate guarantees in the event of the transfer of staff in the case of transfer

of undertakings

A. Ensure the consultation of employees representatives in the selection of tendered port activities

B. Allow Member States to impose a requirement to take over staff in the case of a take-over of the contact of port service provision

Other

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5. What is missing ?

• State aid guidelines:– Modernisation of overall State aid rules– Prospect of port-specific guidelines almost nihil

• Concessions:– Directive proposal on (service) concessions– Good chance to exclude land-related contracts– DG Move will not act before Directive is adopted– Do we need / want a sector-specific instrument ?– What about the ESPO toolbox ?

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