EVENTS > CPMR Events

At the invitation of the CPMR, the Port of Gijon and the Region of Asturias, and in the presence of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Barrot, over 200 people discussed the future of European ports and maritime transport policies on the 19 November 2007 in Gijon.

The agenda for this event, as well as the presentations made by the speakers (in their original language), are available below.

This event highlighted the necessity for a shift in the EU transport policy to make it more adaptable to specific territorial characteristics: outermost regions; diversified maritime sea basins where the use of public aid applies with differing degrees of intensity; EU ports exposed to competition from non-member neighbouring countries…

Commissioner Barrot, indicated, like his own concerns, “the concerns of the CPMR with regard to:
- the efficiency of the transport system;
- sustainable development;
- mobility and the role of the periphery in a balanced European policy and, in short,
- the prosperity and quality of life in our regions.”

The presence of Jean Trestour, Head of Unit at DG TREN, helped to enlighten the participants about the numerous current initiatives underway in these sectors, such as that of Partick Verhoeven, ESPO Secretary General, on the expectations of port professionals.

The Motorways of the Sea was one of the major themes of this meeting. As Claudio Martini, President of the CPMR, indicated in his opening speech:
“What happens today on the subject between the French and Spanish coasts is clearly tantamount to a test of the validity of the Motorways of the sea concept, invented by the European Commission in 2001. For us, a Motorway of the Sea is a new, high capacity maritime route, which reduces the number of heavy goods vehicles on the road, and is surely not an EU label assigned to an existing route where a shipowner already makes an operating surplus. It is an element of territorial cohesion in anticipation of the future modified European Treaty.”

As Mr Xavier Gizard, Secretary General of the CPMR, indicated in his closing speech, the discussions initiated in Gijon should be continued. The CPMR will collaborate within the framework of a working group entitled “Aqua Marina”, chaired by the Region of Brittany and which, in 2008-2009, will undertake an evaluation of the developments resulting from the publication of Commissioner Borg’s Blue Paper on maritime policy in October 2007, and the communications from Commissioner Barrot on maritime transport.