Activities of Helga STEVENS related to 2013/0157(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Market access to port services and financial transparency of ports (A8-0023/2016 - Knut Fleckenstein) NL
Amendments (24)
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) This Regulation does not impose a specific port management model to the managing bodies of ports. Provided that rules relating to market access and financial transparency are respected, existing port management models established at national level in the Member States can be maintained in accordance with Protocol 26 the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular arrangements under which a Member State assigns its port management competences and responsibilities in the execution of the public prerogatives to decentralised managing bodies that stay under its supervision.
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5a) In accordance with Protocol 26 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union the provisions of this regulation should not affect in any way the competence of Member States to provide, commission and organise the activities or services mentioned in this regulation as non-economic services of general interest. Consequently Member States and public authorities should retain the power to organise those services or activities either as economic or as non- economic activities.
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) In many ports, the market access for providers of cargo-handling and terminal passenger services is granted by means of public concession contractscontracts or agreements having as their object the right of such providers to exploit parts of the public domains or resources under private or public law. This type of contracts willcan be covered by the Directive ..../…...[concessions]. Consequently, Chapter II of this Regulation should not apply to the provision of cargo-handling and passenger services, but Member States should remain free to decide to apply nevertheless the rules of this Chapter to these two services. For other types of contracts used by public authorities for granting market access to cargo handling and terminal passenger services, the Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed that the competent authorities are bound by the principles of transparency and non- discrimination when concluding these contracts. These principles are fully applicable as regards the provision of any port service.
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. This Regulation shall apply to the provision of the following categories of port services, when organised as economic activities, either inside the port area or on the waterway access to and from the ports.:
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Member States may also apply this Regulation to other port services in which case they shall notify their Decision to the Commission.
Amendment 282 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 2 a (new)
Article 2 – point 2 a (new)
2 a. ‘competent authority’ means any public or private body which, on behalf of a regional or national level, is entitled to carry out under national law or regulations activities related to the organisation and management of port activities in a seaport, in conjunction with or alternatively to the managing body of the port;
Amendment 289 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 5
Article 2 – point 5
5. ‘managing body of the port’ means any public or private body which, whether or not in conjunction with other activities, has as its objectivepublic responsibility assigned under national law or instrumentregulations the administration and management of the port infrastructures, port traffic in the seaport in question, the coordination and, where appropriate, the carrying-out, organisation or control of the activities of the operators present in the seaport concerned, and the development of the seaport;
Amendment 298 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 8
Article 2 – point 8
8. ‘pilotage’ means the guidance service of a waterborne vessel by a pilot or a pilotage station in order to allow for a safe entry or exit of the waterborne vessel in the waterways access to the seaport or safe navigation within the port;
Amendment 306 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 13
Article 2 – point 13
13. ‘provider of port services’ means any natural or legal person providing, or wishing to provide, for remuneration, one or more categories of port services l, when organisted in Article 1(2)as economic activities;
Amendment 311 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 17
Article 2 – point 17
17. ‘towage’ means the assistance to a waterborne vessel by means of a tug in order to allow for a safe entry or exit of the seaport or safe navigation within the seaport by providing assistance to the manoeuvring of the waterborne vessel;
Amendment 314 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 18
Article 2 – point 18
18. ‘waterway access to a port’ means a water access to the port from the open sea, such as port approaches, fairways, rivers, sea canals and fjordbody connecting the open sea with the seaport and/or the inland waterways.
Amendment 316 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 18 a (new)
Article 2 – point 18 a (new)
18a. General infrastructure: all access and defence infrastructure that provides sea or land access to port infrastructure, that benefits a wider region and that does not result in any specific advantage for one or more identifiable port users within a bigger group of port users.
Amendment 319 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 18 b (new)
Article 2 – point 18 b (new)
18b. Port infrastructure means the project related infrastructure and facilities commercially exploited by port users that generate a direct income for the port managing body including berths used for the mooring of ships (quay walls, jetties and floating pontoon ramps in tidal areas).
Amendment 321 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – point 18 c (new)
Article 2 – point 18 c (new)
18c. ‘port superstructure’ means the surface arrangements, buildings (warehouses, workshops, office buildings), as well as mobile and fixed equipment.
Amendment 485 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. The managing body of the port or the competent authority itself, or a legally distinct entity over which it exercises a control similar to that exercised over its own departments, may provide a port service without any restrictions, provided that the provisions of article 4 of this Regulation apply equally to all operators providing the service concerned. In such cases, the provider of the port service shall be deemed, for the purpose of this Regulation, to constitute an internal operator. In the cases provided for in Article 6 (1) (b), the managing body of the port or the competent authority may decide either to provide a port service under public service obligations itself or to impose such obligations directly on a legally distinct entity over which it exercises a control similar to that exercised over its own departments. In such a case, the port service provider shall be considered as an internal operator for the purpose, including an agent (such as a pilot) employed or commissioned by the managing body of the port ofr this Regulatione competent authority.
Amendment 494 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. The managing body of the port competent authority shall be considered asdeemed to be exercising a control ofver a legally distinct entity similar to that exercised to its own departments only if it exercises a decisive influence overn both theits own and the controlled legal entity’s strategic objectives and the significant decisions of the controlled legal entityrelating to the port service concerned.
Amendment 499 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. TheIn cases provided for in point (b) of Article 6(1), an internal operator shall be confinpermitted to perform the assigned port service only in the port(s) for which the assignment to provide the port service has been attributssigned to him and article 13 shall apply.
Amendment 504 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Article 9 – paragraph 4
4. If, without prejudice to Article 8(3), a competent authority decides to apply paragraph 1 in all the seaports covered by this Regulation in a Member State, it shall inform the Commission.
Amendment 549 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Where the managing body of the port that receives public funds provides port services itself or dredging, it shall keep the accoany public funtds of each port service activityreceived fully transparent and separate from its other accounts of its otivities in ther activitiescounting system, in such a way that:
Amendment 561 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 5
Article 12 – paragraph 5
5. The managing body of the port shall make available to the Commission and the competent independent supervisory body, upon request,, or other entity that provides port services on its behalf, shall, in the event of a formal complaint and upon request, make available to the relevant national authority the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and any additional information that they deem necessary in order to complete a thorough appraisal of the data submitted and to assess compliance with this Regulation. The information shall be transmitted within two months from the date of the request.
Amendment 563 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 7 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Public funds, referred to in paragraph 1 and 3 made available to the managing body of the port in order to either partly or entirely finance general infrastructure or port infrastructure stay within the public remit, as long as these infrastructures are managed in a non-commercial way and do not favour one or more identifiable port users within a larger group.
Amendment 568 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 7 b (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Public funds made available to the managing body of the port in order to either partly or entirely finance the superstructure fall outside the public remit as they are directly related to the benefit of the individual port user involved.
Amendment 587 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. In order to contribute to an efficient infrastructure charging system, the nature, structure and the level of port infrastructure charges shall be deftermined in an autonomous way by the managing body of the port according to its ownaccording to national or individual ports policy and/or the individual port’s commercial economic strategy and investment plan reflecting competitive conditions of theand comply with competition reulevant market and in accordance with State aid rus, where applicables.
Amendment 596 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 4
Article 14 – paragraph 4
4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, port infrastructure charges may vary in accordance with commercial practices related to frequentthe port’s economic strategy and the port’s spatial planning policy, related inter alia to certain categories of users, or in order to promote a more efficient use of the port infrastructure, short sea shipping or a high environmental performance, energy efficiency or carbon efficiency of transport operations. The criteria used for such a variation shall be relevant, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory and in due respect of the competition rules. The resulting variation shall in particular be available to all relevant port service users on equal terms.