Shipping called “environmentally friendly”
European port policy should promote investments and sustainable development as well as quality jobs to meet the challenges of growth, consolidation and integrated logistics, said Jacques Barrot, vice president of the European Commission and commissioner for transport.Barrot made his comments at the annual meeting of the Association for the Development of French Ports held in Rouen.
“A sustainable mobility policy for Europe must be based on a wide range of instruments so that traffic can be shifted towards more environmentally friendly forms of transport, such as short and long sea shipping,” Barrot said. “At the same time it is equally important to optimize every means of transport to ensure it is used effectively.”
In June Barrot announced the opening of a consultation process on the ports sector, which will take stock of progress in the sector. An analysis of its findings is expected at the end of 2007.
