What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Given the strategic importance of ports to the European transport sector and the European economy as a whole, the rapporteur calls upon the European Commission to propose with priority a comprehensive European Port Strategy that ensures the future competitiveness and resilience of European ports and prevents any foreign dependency in this sector.

After Europe has been brutally confronted with its one-sided energy dependency on Russia, the Union is facing the creation of new foreign dependencies, this time in the transport sector. Investments in ports by foreign state-owned players from autocratic regimes, such as China, have been significant over the last twenty years.

Foreign influence over European critical infrastructure is problematic as it has the potential to undermine the security, economic independence and resilience of individual Member States and the Union as a whole. By allowing such foreign influence, the EU is increasingly economically vulnerable and perceptive to illegitimate pressure by autocratic third countries. Furthermore, when foreign parties acquire insight into complete flows of goods entering and leaving the EU, the risk of espionage increases - a risk that national intelligence services have already been warning against.

No individual port or Member State is able to turn away these investments easily, as they have to contemplate the risk that this investment will just move to a competitor next door or to a neighbouring Member State. This means that a joint European approach is crucial, particularly as a vulnerability in one Member State is a vulnerability to the European Union as a whole.

At the same time, the rapporteur points out that, besides addressing the security risks via increased European cooperation, regulation and enforcement at all levels, strengthening the own economic position of EU ports and improving their competitiveness on a global level is crucial. Ports play a vital role in the energy transition and can benefit from investments, innovation, digitalization and a global level playing field.

To turn the tide it is crucial that Member States and ports adopt with priority a common and stringent strategic approach towards the development of our critical infrastructure. Therefore, in addition to the revision of the TEN-T Regulation and the upcoming revision of the FDI Regulation, we call upon the Commission to propose a comprehensive European Port Strategy that ensures the competitiveness of European ports while securing their economic independence from third-country actors. This strategy must set limits on foreign investment in order to prevent any third-country presence that has the potential to undermine security or public order in our Union. It must also create the right framework for European public and private investors to invest in critical port infrastructure and strengthen the resilience of the gateways to our economy.

The EU needs economic openness towards the rest of the world, via its ports, to maintain prosperity and jobs at home. But EU cooperation must make sure that this openness cannot be abused and turned into a weakness. This is why the rapporteur proposes a European Port Strategy. Our future economic strength and strategic independence will depend on it.