Ports and maritime industry must become a central pillar of Europe’s competitiveness and resilience.
Ahead of the European Commission's announcement of the EU Ports Strategy and the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy, Renew Europe Group adopted a position paper titled ‘’Europe starts at sea: future-proofing Europe's ports, industry and waterborne economy.’’
Europe's ports handle 90% of its trade and support 1.5 million jobs. Jeannette Baljeu MEP (VVD, NL) said:
"They create jobs, serve as economic, defence and energy hubs and enable the green transition. Europe is a maritime continent. Our prosperity and security are built on water. In an era of rising geopolitical tensions and the energy transition, we must decarbonise, remain competitive and strengthen our resilience. Renew Europe is clear: The EU Ports Strategy and Industrial Maritime Strategy must deliver on these challenges."
Renew Europe has called for investment in infrastructure, digital systems and clean technologies to support military mobility and resilience against geopolitical and cyber threats. They also promote fair competition and high-value European shipbuilding.
The presented policies aim to develop ports as energy hubs, modernise fleets, adopt alternative fuels and position Europe as a global leader in clean maritime technology. This would help Europe achieve its immediate goals to strengthen security and sovereignty as well as advance competitiveness and the green transition.
Renew Europe has argued that upcoming strategies must match the new geopolitical reality and follow the direction set out in the Draghi report and the Competitiveness Compass.
By clearly prioritising our ports and maritime industry, Europe strengthens its economy, protects its critical infrastructure and ensures it can stand firmly on its own in an increasingly unstable world.
Read the full paper here.