At a high-level conference held at the European Parliament, policymakers, regional leaders, and industry representatives urged the European Commission to align regulation and investment in Europe’s ports. The debate, hosted by MEP Thomas Pellerin-Carlin and Ports de Normandie, underlined that ports are no longer gateways for trade but pivotal nodes in the European Union’s decarbonisation, energy and security strategies.
Thomas Pellerin-Carlin (S&D, France) opened the session by describing ports as “the pillars of the future” and calling for a multiannual Programming Law of Investments for the Climate, modelled on France’s Military Programming Law, to provide predictability for long-term infrastructure financing. Hervé Morin, President of Région Normandie and of Ports de Normandie, stressed that ports “stand at the crossroads of sovereignty and development”, linking regional growth with European industrial autonomy.
Parliamentarians urged the Commission to balance short-term industrial funding with realistic investment in proven infrastructure. Christophe Clergeau (S&D, France) warned that the forthcoming Sustainable Transport Investment Plan “is becoming a financial opportunity to put a lot of money in e-fuels in the short term”. He added that “if we put lots of money into alternative fuels today, and we do not invest in electrification at ports and LNG, which are available today, we will have problems”. Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Renew, France) described the port sector as “emblematic of European sovereignty” and called for coordination between the EU, regions and industry “to involve all stakeholders concerned, regions, local authorities, port unions, industry and maritime professionals”.
From the European Commission, Torsten Klimke, Head of the Ports Unit at DG MOVE, highlighted that the FuelEU Maritime and Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations together create binding obligations for ships and ports to connect to onshore power supply by 2030 and 2031. “Onshore power supply is part of electrification,” he said. “It connects ports to smart electricity grids and offshore energy, the connector between cities, energy networks and offshore electricity. It is also an opportunity to connect and to reindustrialise.”
Timothé Noël, Team Leader for maritime emissions at DG CLIMA, reminded participants that maritime transport accounts for up to 4 percent of EU greenhouse gas emissions, with “more than 6 percent of those linked to ships emitting while staying in EU ports”. He said that the inclusion of shipping in the EU ETS “makes investments in energy efficiency or the use of renewable fuels more financially attractive through the carbon pricing signal”, while generating revenues to reinvest in decarbonisation. Both officials underlined that stable, long-term EU funding will determine whether these regulatory goals are achievable.
