By Brian Johnson - 16th January 2006
The fate of the European Commission’s flagship port services liberalisation programme hangs in the balance as MEPs contemplate sinking the controversial proposals for a second time.
MEPs will look again on Tuesday at the port services directive, a virtual carbon copy of the proposal they unceremoniously threw out in November 2003.
That package sank over fears that new laws would compromise safety and open up Europe’s ports to a flood of unqualified labour to replace skilled professional dockers.
The directive is strongly opposed by dockers’ trade unions.
And many port authorities are also eyeing the proposals with suspicion, especially the thorny issue of ‘self handling’ – cargo handling carried out by ships’ crews rather than dock workers.
Opposition to the proposals, which would have forced docks to allow cargo handling by land-based personnel employed by ship owners or by the crew themselves, sparked protests throughout Europe and split the European Parliament’s political groups when originally proposed.
The introduction of ‘self handling’ would end the European ports’ lucrative monopoly on moving cargoes.
The European Parliament’s transport committee has been unable to reach a compromise agreement on the controversial package, refloated in October 2004, in the final weeks of the Prodi commission by the former EU transport chief, Loyola de Palacio.
Lack of agreement within the transport committee means MEPs will on Wednesday vote on the commission’s original unchanged proposal.
Three of the parliament’s major political groups, the Socialists, Liberals and Greens, would prefer to return the directive back to the transport committee, rather than agree the commission’s untouched package.
However, the parliament’s largest political group has still to show its hand. The centre right EPP-ED group will debate their position on Monday evening.
If they back the commission’s position, then the other three groups are likely to vote against the proposals, in a tight vote that many MEPs are saying is too close to call.
And MEPs are set to receive a vociferous reminder of the strength of feeling from Europe’s port workforce, as 6000 dock workers descend on Strasbourg on Monday to demonstrate against the proposals.
Tens of thousands of dock workers across Europe are also on a 24-hour strike on Monday, with Europe’s largest ports, Rotterdam, Le Harve and Antwerp severely affected.
In an open letter to MEPs on Friday, Giuliano Gallanti, chairman of the European Sea Ports Organisation, called for the withdrawal of the commission’s proposals.
“There is no stable political basis for the directive…we believe that the current proposal as such has no future any longer,” said Gallanti.
This week’s debate and vote in Strasbourg is being seen a test of the current commission’s focus on increasing liberalisation particularly the opening up of cross border services to competition.
The parliament is set for further clashes in February, as it gears up to vote on the services directive.
That directive is the EU’s current political hot potato, and is set to open up to competition to almost two-thirds of Europe’s economy.
Nicknamed the “Bolkestein directive” after the former Dutch commissioner responsible for introducing the package, the legislation was instrumental in turning the EU constitution referendums in France and the Netherlands, last year.
A defeat for the commission on the port services bill could add to Brussels concerns that its liberalisation drive is running out of steam.
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