World Shipping Council urges EU to foster sector’s competitiveness role

Brussels, January 29, 2024 — The World Shipping Council welcomes the balance between sustainability and competitiveness struck in the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass released today, that will form the basis for the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.

WSC, however, called on the Commission to recognise that liner shipping is investing in Europe and urged the Commission to support the sector on its path to decarbonise supply chains, fostering open trade and protecting critical sea lanes from geopolitical disruptions.

“We are happy to see the Commission’s recognition that decarbonisation can drive competitiveness, and its commitment to intertwine it with EU economic, competition, and trade policies,” WSC President and CEO Joe Kramek said.

“This is the moment for Europe to seize the opportunity to support shipping in contributing to the competitiveness of a sustainable future EU economy,” he said.

The new measures are envisioned to de-risk investment in renewable energy and the production and distribution of renewable and low-carbon transport fuels. These steps are crucial for Europe to establish itself as a maritime energy hub.

Supply chain resilience & competitiveness

With exports bringing over €2 trillion to the EU each year, the movement of goods across oceans is essential to Europe. In fact, 90% of goods by volume enters and leaves the EU by sea transport. These ships connect Europe to over 900 ports worldwide, reaching key markets and building important international relationships.

The Commission’s pledge to make a priority of completing the EU single market and reducing the administrative burden will be welcomed by ocean carriers as well as shippers.

To reach this goal, the coming years will require the creation of a maritime space without barriers, the removal of customs formalities for goods transported by sea intra EU, the streamlining of external border controls, the harmonisation of rules and the further reduction of bureaucracy.

The WSC welcomed the Commission’s recognition that partnerships with industry are vital to make legislation and policy work better and advocated for this approach to focus on policy design and implementation.

Read and download the full Media Release here.