The EP approves a new regulation which would grant Barcelona Port newfound autonomy
CNA
Strasbourg (CNA).- The European Parliament has approved a
new Port Services Regulation (PRS) which guarantees EU ports more
autonomy, allowing each managing body of the port to set its own
structure and rates. This will cause some changes in Spain as the ports
are regulated primarily by the ´Puertos del Estado´, a public sector
body of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. Ramon Tremosa, MEP
of pro-independence liberal party CDC, noted that this is a “historic”
victory for Catalonia, and condemned the government-run port system that
had been implemented. However, MEP for governing conservative People´s
Party (PP) suggests that European Parliament is “encouraging
competition” and that the new regulation would call for a change in
Spain´s Constitution. Parties PP, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE),
and Unionist Ciutadans all voted against the legislation. However, as
the Port of Barcelona has seen an increase in traffic in the last few
years, Tremosa countered that the regulation could allow for it to truly
¨thrive”. The CDC MEP argues that the Port of Barcelona could do this
by allowing it to lower its rates to more competitive prices, and open
it to becoming a European port for international commerce.
This Tuesday, the European Parliament approved the new PSR which
would grant EU ports more autonomy. “The structure and the port tariff
rate will be set autonomously by the managing body of the port, in
accordance with its own commercial strategy and investment plan”,
outlines the text. Said document, drawn up by Hamburg MEP Knut
Fleckenstein, was approved by 451 MEP votes to 243, with 18 abstentions.
MEP Ramon Tremosa of the pro-independence liberal party CDC stated that
“the approved regulation stipulates that each port has the autonomy to
set its own rates and aims to reduce the subsidies between ports of the
same country, thereby ending the secular hyper-centralism of the Puertos
del Estado”. The ´Puertos del Estado´ are a public sector body of the
Ministry of Public Works and Transport, comprised of 28 Port Authorities
with jurisdiction over 46 public interest ports. More than 47 million
tons of goods passed through the Port of Barcelona in 2015, a number
which marked a steady increase from the previous year. This also means a
52% rise above numbers achieved even before the economic crisis. This
regulation allots new autonomy to the increasingly utilised and
successful Port of Barcelona, along with those in all of Catalonia.
The governing PP), PSOE, and Spanish unionist party ´Ciutadans´ all
voted against the regulation. PP MEP Luis de Grandes argued that “in
Spain, the reform would be detrimental, because the ports are public
domain and the taxes to be paid for their use is set through
negotiations between private operators”. “Spain would be forced to
change its Constitution and how the Spanish port system is organised,
i.e. privatising the ports” contended de Grandes. The MEP additionally
asserted that Eurochambres was “encouraging competition among the Member
States that constitute an essential part of its organisation and
economic system”.
Tremosa noted that this is a “historical reclamation” by the Port of
Barcelona and for the Parliament of Catalonia, as well as a “basic
condition for the growth potential of the Mediterranean corridor to be
able to thrive”.
MEPs of the political parties ERC, CDC, ´Podemos´ and Basque
Nationalist Party (PNB) all voted in favour of the regulation, while
Catalan Green-Socialist party (ICV) abstained.
A “historic” victory
Tremosa explained to CNA that this voting was a “great victory for a
historic Catalan majority decision”, one which has left “Spain alone” to
“defend” an “unsuccessful, disastrous, soviet model from the nineteenth
century that has no future in modern Europe”.
The CDC MEP added that this regulation will allow Mediterranean ports
to enter “into the twenty-first century”, that “Genoa, Marseille,
Barcelona and Valencia can become Hamburg, Bremen, Rotterdam or
Antwerp”. Tremosa also disclosed that, with individualised management,
the Port of Barcelona “can compete by setting lower rates to intercept
new traffic, new investments, and new transportation of goods”. For
Tremosa, it´s about Mediterranean ports “no longer being local ports, in
order to become European ports for international commerce”.
would grant EU ports more autonomy. “The structure and the port tariff
rate will be set autonomously by the managing body of the port, in
accordance with its own commercial strategy and investment plan”,
outlines the text. Said document, drawn up by Hamburg MEP Knut
Fleckenstein, was approved by 451 MEP votes to 243, with 18 abstentions.
MEP Ramon Tremosa of the pro-independence liberal party CDC stated that
“the approved regulation stipulates that each port has the autonomy to
set its own rates and aims to reduce the subsidies between ports of the
same country, thereby ending the secular hyper-centralism of the Puertos
del Estado”. The ´Puertos del Estado´ are a public sector body of the
Ministry of Public Works and Transport, comprised of 28 Port Authorities
with jurisdiction over 46 public interest ports. More than 47 million
tons of goods passed through the Port of Barcelona in 2015, a number
which marked a steady increase from the previous year. This also means a
52% rise above numbers achieved even before the economic crisis. This
regulation allots new autonomy to the increasingly utilised and
successful Port of Barcelona, along with those in all of Catalonia.
The governing PP), PSOE, and Spanish unionist party ´Ciutadans´ all
voted against the regulation. PP MEP Luis de Grandes argued that “in
Spain, the reform would be detrimental, because the ports are public
domain and the taxes to be paid for their use is set through
negotiations between private operators”. “Spain would be forced to
change its Constitution and how the Spanish port system is organised,
i.e. privatising the ports” contended de Grandes. The MEP additionally
asserted that Eurochambres was “encouraging competition among the Member
States that constitute an essential part of its organisation and
economic system”.
Tremosa noted that this is a “historical reclamation” by the Port of
Barcelona and for the Parliament of Catalonia, as well as a “basic
condition for the growth potential of the Mediterranean corridor to be
able to thrive”.
MEPs of the political parties ERC, CDC, ´Podemos´ and Basque
Nationalist Party (PNB) all voted in favour of the regulation, while
Catalan Green-Socialist party (ICV) abstained.
A “historic” victory
Tremosa explained to CNA that this voting was a “great victory for a
historic Catalan majority decision”, one which has left “Spain alone” to
“defend” an “unsuccessful, disastrous, soviet model from the nineteenth
century that has no future in modern Europe”.
The CDC MEP added that this regulation will allow Mediterranean ports
to enter “into the twenty-first century”, that “Genoa, Marseille,
Barcelona and Valencia can become Hamburg, Bremen, Rotterdam or
Antwerp”. Tremosa also disclosed that, with individualised management,
the Port of Barcelona “can compete by setting lower rates to intercept
new traffic, new investments, and new transportation of goods”. For
Tremosa, it´s about Mediterranean ports “no longer being local ports, in
order to become European ports for international commerce”.
More on
Autonomy, CDC, ERC, EU, European Parliament, ICV, ort Services Regulation, PNB, Podemos, Ports, Ramon Tremosa, Regulation
Cranes working at Port de Barcelona (by ACN)
