Port Services (Regulation)

The European Commission wants to increase competition for seaport services in important EU ports by extending the freedom to provide services to include port services. It also wants to make the financial relations between public authorities and port service providers more transparent and strengthen the autonomy of port management bodies to set their own infrastructure charges in order to improve investment conditions.

cepPolicyBrief

Extending the freedom to provide services to include port services leads to lower prices for port services. The regulation that applies where port services are provided by the port management, stating that the number of service providers may not be limited to less than two, guarantees a minimum level of competition. The regulation that port infrastructure charges may only vary for certain purposes, restricts the entrepreneurial freedom of port operators.