Shippers call for EU to stop interfering with global regulations and to focus on the single market
The UK’s £10bn shipping industry has called the push toward closer union in Europe “distracting” and told the European Commission (EC) to stop interfering with the sector’s globally produced regulations.
The UK Chamber of Shipping (CS) said that rules devised on a global scale helped to create a level playing field among competing firms. It also said “the UK shipping industry has faced legislative proposals from the EC which reflect little understanding of the industry and how it is regulated.”
The EC’s “Europe where possible approach should be replaced with a “Europe where necessary one”, the CS said.
UK Chamber director of policy David Balston said:
It is clear that some elements of the European Union work well, but its mission creep and drive towards ‘ever closer union’ are distracting it from what matters – creating a single market that is competitive in the 21st century.
The shipping industry relies on trade, and any mechanism that can encourage free trade is something we instinctively support. But there is no doubt that the impact of some EU regulations places the UK and other European nations at a competitive disadvantage.
Shipping has a global regulator, the International Maritime Organisation, which creates a global level playing field. But when a regional power such as the EU creates its own regulation, then that global level playing field becomes distorted, and major maritime nations such as the UK feel the impact more than most.
The CS wants questions surrounding Britain’s future role in collective negotiations on international trade to be central in the UK’s renegotiation efforts with the EU.