The Commission presents a new Communication on Short Sea Shipping in Europe highlighting the progress achieved since 1999 and linking it to the Programme for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping). Between 1995 and 2002, the tonne-kilometre performance of both Short Sea Shipping and road grew by 25 %. In 2001, Short Sea Shipping performed 40 % of all tonne-kilometres in Europe while the share of road transport was 45 %.

There is no doubt that passenger transport is an important part of Short Sea Shipping and helps increase cohesion. However, since the main objective of promoting Short Sea Shipping is to achieve a modal shift for goods transport, and since the potential of alleviating traffic congestion by shifting passengers from road to sea seems marginal in comparison with freight, this Communication concentrates on goods transport.

Firstly, the document underlines that maritime transport has a higher energy-efficiency than other modes of transport and is, in general, less harmful to the environment. Increased use of Short Sea Shipping would generally be in line with the Community transport and environmental policies. It is necessary to overcome the obstacles to the development of short sea shipping. The Commission, in co-operation with the Short Sea Shipping Focal Points [8] and industry, has been collecting a list of obstacles that hinder the development of Short Sea Shipping. In 2003, two meetings of the Focal Points were dedicated to addressing those alleged bottlenecks. Moreover, the Commission presented in 2002 a Guide to Customs Procedures for Short Sea Shipping. The Guide has a two-fold purpose. First, it outlines the EU Customs rules that apply to Short Sea Shipping, including the opportunities that are available to use simplified Customs procedures. And, second, it gives a concise basis for identifying whether there could be concrete needs for modifications or further simplifications. Short Sea Shipping needs efficient and short-sea friendly ports whether these are seaports, island ports or sea-river ports. It needs reasonable turnaround times, and transparent procedures and charges. Only with ports operating seamlessly in the intermodal chain, can Short Sea Shipping enhance its true role in Europe. And these pre-conditions are not always being met. Consequently, the Commission made in 2001 a proposal on access to the port services market in the European Union. This proposal aimed to increase the efficiency and lower the costs of certain port services: pilotage, towing, mooring, services to passengers and cargo handling. The Commission strongly emphasised the concept of "Motorways of the Sea". These Motorways of the Sea should become part of the trans-European network (TEN-T) - just like land motorways and railways - and reduce road congestion and/or improve access to peripheral and island regions and States. In addition to reducing the number of lorries on the main roads, they could also in certain cases contribute to fostering the transport of passengers by sea since vessels can carry freight and passengers at the same time. Motorways of the Sea should become an integral part of door-to-door logistics chains and offer efficient, regular, reliable and frequent services that can compete with road, for instance, in terms of transit time and price. The ports connected to the Motorways should have efficient hinterland connections, rapid administrative procedures and a high level of service that is targeted to making short-sea operations successful. To help this process, the Commission is developing guidelines that would set out the criteria and procedures for the funding of Motorways of the Sea projects under the rules of the trans-European transport network thereby facilitating the practical application of those rules. The guidelines are expected to be ready shortly after the new TEN-T Guidelines enter into force. Lastly, not everyone is, so far, aware of the modern benefits of door-to-door Short Sea Shipping. This is being tackled by general promotion at EU level and two separate European networks of promotion each with their specific tasks: Short Sea Shipping Focal Points and Short Sea Promotion Centres.

In conclusion, the Commission recalls that that the promotion of Short Sea Shipping is a long-term exercise and the impact of the ongoing work can be properly evaluated on a Europe-wide scale only over a longer time perspective. The Commission will continue to promote Short Sea Shipping and review its developments; to this end, it intends to present further Communications or progress reports when appropriate.

In order to lend greater weight to the Commission’s proposals, which though full of potential were still incomplete, a suitable initiative was needed to enable short sea shipping to play a much fuller role in European transport policy. The Committee of the Regions was prepared to associate itself with the Commission’s views on this important subject and welcomed the reference made by the Commission to the principle of subsidiarity, expressing the hope that this principle would be applied to those areas coming within the competence of regional and local authorities. The CoR called for an end to the abuses based around the monopoly of port services and the gradual introduction of equality of competition. Short sea shipping policy had to be developed as an important asset for land-use planning. Local and regional authorities had to be consulted and would be called on to play an active role in the decision-making process in those areas under their charge, especially with regard to port infrastructure development, traffic management and environmental matters.

‘THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION NOTES 1. the considerable advantages presented by short sea shipping for the European Union in comparison with land transport, in particular: a) the general availability of spare capacity in short sea shipping; b) lower energy consumption and lower levels of emission of pollutants into the atmosphere; c) potential contribution to the development of peripheral regions of the European Union; d) possibility to extend short sea shipping further with few infrastructure costs; 2. the reports and the agreed multiannual work programmes adopted by various Conferences on shipping in different areas, such as the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea; 3. the reports and proposals by the Maritime Industries Forum on the advisability of promoting short sea shipping as a viable alternative in economic, energy, safety and environmental terms, to land transport; STATES THAT the main objectives of short sea shipping policy are: 1. to achieve a balanced growth of this mode of transport; 2. positive and active integration of short sea shipping, including feeder services, into the intermodal transport chain; INTENDS TO pursue these objectives by encouraging the following actions: 1. developing further the environmental benefits of short sea shipping; 2. promoting, in the interest of the users, free and fair competition between modes of transport in which all modes bear their full costs, including external costs; 3. fostering of free and fair competition between Community ports and between shipping lines; 4. improving port efficiency in order to reduce the costs of, and time spent in, port operations; 5. making use of the combined transport for the development of short sea shipping; 6. promoting the confidence of shippers and transport undertakings in the possibilities of short sea shipping; 7. streamlining and, where appropriate, coordinating, harmonising and simplifying customs procedures and other related administrative formalities which arise in harbours; 8. encouraging initiatives by shipping undertakings involved in short sea shipping; 9. drawing up and implementing pilot projects concerning short sea shipping, where these do not distort competition between transport modes or between shipping companies or ports of all Member States, and disseminating the results; 10. supporting training, research and development in the area of short sea shipping and port activities;11. supporting and expanding electronic data interchange (EDI); IN THE LIGHT OF THE ABOVE: 1. welcomes in general the action programme contained in the Communication by the Commission; 2. notes that the Commission will submit as soon as possible its Green Paper on the internalisation of external costs in transport; 3. notes that the Commission will develop as soon as possible guidelines on State aid to shipping and to ports and will consult the Member States and the maritime industries on these guidelines; 4. agrees that the promotion of short sea shipping should continue to be an important element in ongoing Community and Member States’ activity such as the trans-European transport network plan and the Fourth Framework Programme on Research and Development; INVITES THE COMMISSION to propose to the Council or to develop, as soon as possible, the measures necessary to attain the objectives stated in part C taking into account its action programme and the subsidiarity principle, and in particular measures which: 1. prevent distortion of competition between ports; 2. promote the increased use of short sea shipping among its potential users; 3. simplify and streamline existing customs procedures and other related administrative formalities which arise in ports, with regard to short sea shipping; 4. encourage initiatives by shipping undertakings involved in short sea shipping; 5. support programmes of training, research and development in this transport sector; 6. encourage the use of information technology for the best development of this mode of transport; INVITES THE MEMBER STATES: 1. to support the objectives and the means stated in parts C and D; 2. to cooperate with the Commission in setting a Community framework to promote the short sea shipping sector; 3. to carry out actions to stimulate short sea shipping, taking into account the proposed action programme of the communication and to encourage their regional, local and port authorities and maritime industries to do likewise; 4. to promote practical consultations, for example through round tables such as those of the Maritime Industries Forum in which the maritime industries and regional, local and port authorities are represented.’