ECSA: EU maritime strategy must bridge innovation gap, not build barriers

ECSA European Shipowners has received with open arms the adoption of the Szczecin Declaration on the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy, hailing it as a “strong and clear” signal that protectionism has no right to a seat at the maritime table.

At a time of increasing protectionism across the globe, ECSA believes that the declaration underscores the one crucial fact: Europe is in need of more investments to bridge the innovation gap and to make the maritime industrial cluster—the backbone of the continent’s security, economy and resilience—more competitive.

“The Szczecin Declaration puts the competitiveness of European shipping at the centre of the European maritime industrial strategy. We welcome the support for key priorities for the European Shipowners, such as the need to de-risk investments in clean fuels and technology and to maintain a fit-for-purpose regulatory and taxation framework,” commented Sotiris Raptis, Secretary General of the European Shipowners | ECSA.