The European Parliament’s Transport Committee has discussed the European Commission’s new Ports Strategy and Industrial Maritime Strategy, with debate focusing on maritime resilience, sustainable fuels, logistics connectivity and aviation supply security, according to the European Shippers’ Council.

European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, presented the strategies that aim to make decarbonisation a driver of competitiveness. Brussels views ports not only as transport hubs, but also as energy, logistics and security assets.

Several Members of the European Parliament raised concerns about foreign ownership of European ports and called for stronger safeguards against strategic dependencies on third countries.

The discussion also highlighted the need to accelerate port electrification, digitalisation and the rollout of alternative fuels. Planned measures include simpler permitting procedures for electrification projects and support for sustainable fuel production in Europe.

Members of the European Parliament also raised concerns about the impact of the EU Emissions Trading System on the competitiveness of European shipping.

On maritime industry policy, the EU executive underlined the importance of supporting European shipyards and strengthening Europe’s industrial maritime value chain in response to increasing global competition and state-backed subsidies from third countries.

The debate also covered the need to improve hinterland connections and multimodal logistics to strengthen European supply chains. The future revision of the EU Combined Transport Directive was discussed as part of efforts to improve cargo transport efficiency across Europe.

Brussels also plans to issue guidance on fuel distribution.