Renew Europe calls for ports and maritime industry to become the backbone of EU competitiveness and security
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.’’ Ports and maritime industry must become a central pillar of Europe’s competitiveness and resilience. ‘’They create jobs, serve as economic, defence and energy hubs and enable the green transition,’’ Jeannette Baljeu, Renew Europe MEP said.
Europe's ports handle 90% of its trade and support 1.5 million jobs. Jeannette Baljeu, MEP, added:
‘’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.’’
Jeannette BaljeuRenew Europe MEP, Netherlands, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie
We call for investment in infrastructure, digital systems and clean technologies to support military mobility and resilience against geopolitical, cyber and criminal threats. We also promote fair competition and high-value European shipbuilding. At the same time, 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 argues that the 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.