The Port of Barcelona defends greater autonomy of management for the ports in the TEN-T European Networks

The Port of Barcelona has called for greater autonomy of management for the state ports integrated into the core network of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T), to provide them the necessary instruments to perform their activity efficiently and competitively. This was the message from Port President Mercè Conesa after she attended the meeting of presidents and directors of port authorities organised by Puertos del Estado in Palma de Mallorca to share their positions on the new Strategic Framework of the Spanish Port System.

“This autonomy of management must be put into practice in four areas: setting fees, developing and leading infrastructures, fully regulating port services and decision-making capacity,” underlined President Conesa. “In this request we share the opinion of most port authorities, which confirms that it is a real and urgent need,” she added.

Ms Conesa, who participated in the meeting with the Port's General Manager José Alberto Carbonell, valued positively the meeting of the heads of ports, who met to share their views on the structure, governance model and economic-financial system of the state port system, among other issues. Before the meeting, each of the ports had responded to a questionnaire provided by Puertos del Estado, in which they set out their positions with respect to thirty issues on the current port model, as well as their proposals and demands. With these contributions - and those of other players and organisations - Puertos del Estado aims to draft a new document to update the current Strategic Framework, defined in 1998.

“The in-depth debate held for the first time among all the port authorities was a necessary and timely reflection on the current system,” stressed Conesa, who described the meeting organised by Puertos del Estado as a “bold gesture”. The President of the Port of Barcelona also welcomed the agreement reached on reducing port fees on a 'case by case' basis and not across the board, as was the case in the past.

During the meeting, the Port of Barcelona proposed to promote a legislative change in port matters, taking advantage of the coming into force of the new European Ports Regulation next March. “We need a new regulatory framework adapted to the European Ports Regulation to allow us greater autonomy of management so that we can compete on an equal footing with the rest of European ports”, said Conesa. The President of the Port of Barcelona valued the European Ports Regulation as an “opportunity” for the ports of Spain to face the future in a transparent, open and competitive manner.