The participants at the discussions were the representatives of shipbuilding industry, of the Member States and of the European Investment Bank, the discussions taking place in the annual meeting of those involved in the shipping routes and short sea motorways projects.
"We must develop a real network of maritime highways to connect different regions of the EU, but which can also ensure some links with the neighbouring countries," said Antonio Tajani, European Commissioner for Transport.
The participants in the meeting reviewed the policies implemented so far in the maritime field and agreed to consider until October the additional actions with a short-term impact aimed to allow the sector to emerge strengthened from the crisis.
So far, they have identified various general solutions, such as promoting vessels with superior environmental performance, the provision of loan guarantees for starting some maritime transport services on short routes, encouraging the investments in port infrastructure and links with the hinterland, and supporting the development of containerized transport. In October, under these general directions, they will determine straighter measures, accepted by all the stakeholders. Besides the support to the shipping companies and related services, a new European meeting scheduled on September 11, will be dedicated to identifying solutions to problems faced by shipyards.
