Euromaritime & Eurowaterways ready to start

Paris - One of the main Euromaritime topics is to create a place where the European shipping & transport community can meet and discuss, also to make the whole sector more influential on the political ground. What are the issues on which the EU maritime cluster could find a common ground (i.e. shipyards, technology, a common rule on port management etc...) and on the contrary what are the issues in which you think the integration will be more difficult?
Francis Vallat: “Public policies are essential for supporting innovation and growth. In Europe and in Member States, these policies are numerous and incentive-driven. These are undoubtedly never enough, but European maritime ambition exists and is taken to the highest level. In terms of support for innovation, there is the major European programme Horizon 2020, calling for sustainable exploitation and management of aquatic living resources, and for research on aquatic renewable energy. But there are also other programmes including the “Blue growth strategy”, part of the EU long term plan to restore growth in Europe. According to the European Commission, the “blue” economy represents roughly 5.4 million jobs and generates a gross added value of almost €500 billion a year. In France, the “Innovation 2030” programme, established on the basis of the Lauvergeon report, is also underway. Two ambitions directly concern the maritime sector: energy storage and recovery of marine resources (metals/deep-sea mining and seawater desalination). Several actors try to persuade the French population and its leaders that France possesses exceptional maritime assets and an innovative, high-performance and dynamic maritime industry. Despite rumours, ecological requirements for the marine industry are a priority in all EU Member States. It is even considered as a real opportunity, making it possible to promote innovation. LNG propulsion for example is already a reality, as well as cleaner and safer ships. Most of European maritime actors are real believers and supporters of “sustainable development” and quite a few are ranking amongst the best and safer operators in the world. Last but not least, the marine industry in Europe happens to face unfair competition from countries that do not have the same idea of the open market. It t is essential for example to put forces together to avoid excessive competition by some Asiatic countries.”

Looking also to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Europe showed a quite political weakness. Don’t you think that the issue of terrorism (i.e. the proposal from some European countries to quit the Schengen Agreement) could affect an already divided sector as European logistics?
FV: “Probably difficult to state firmly that the terrorism threat would never impact the sector. Did we not already see events which we thought unbelievable? This being said, and concerning Schengen Agreement, the statements we hear here and there remain in political discourse and – to date – are not yet transferred into policies. Hence it seems that there should be no such concrete threat to the free movement of goods and services as the problems mentioned largely concerned the free movement of people. I’m confident that an EU proposal to reform Schengen Agreement would be probably put on the table before any country leaves Schengen! Moreover, all economic actors who trade at the EU level or internationally know the benefits of being part of the Schengen area… as long as it does not appear as directly detrimental to security of course!”

Eurowaterways is the first European event completely dedicated to this specific topic. What do you expect from this show?
Philippe Fourrier: “Indeed, a specific space is dedicated to the inland waterways sector. With 40 000 km of inland waterways, Europe is the world champion in this mode of transport. However, the potential of EU countries is largely under exploited. If carriage of goods by inland waterways is undoubtedly a climate-friendly and energy efficient mode of transport – which can make a significant contribution to sustainable mobility in Europe – interconnections are still missing between the main river basins. With Eurowaterways, we want to offer a better visibility to the actors of the waterways’ sector in order to contribute to the economic growth of this sector, especially by reinforcing bridges already existing with firms from the maritime sector. The business show would also be an opportunity to talk about the specific dynamic of waterways, especially towards the EU institutions.”

Not only waterways, but also deep sea mining, arctic exploration, alternative energies and megafloats: brand new topics will be discussed during Euromaritime and Eurowaterways conferences. What is the driver that brought you to draw this kind of agenda?
PF: “Euromaritime deliberately falls within the dynamic initiated by the Maritime clusters, which Francis Vallat is presiding at the EU level. We are not interested in a certain sector in particular, even less in a specific activity. We feel concerned by the whole economy of the sea. It is therefore logical that domains such diverse as those you mentioned are addressed, in very technical terms, in the three conferences and thirteen workshops planned during the business show. Moreover, the sectors you mentioned are those in which Europe has industrial flagships which make or can make it a world leader!”

Looking at the exhibitors and press nationalities, we see a strong interest from France, Netherlands and UK too, but few people from Germany, Switzerland and generally Eastern European Countries. How Euromaritime can catch their attention?
PF: “Geographically, the countries you mentioned are logically interested in maritime issues. But Germany, Poland or the Baltic States for example are also largely concerned as the Baltic sea is a major place for maritime transport. Euromaritime is still a young business show. It is only the second edition. And I’m not talking about Eurowaterways which would open its doors for the first time on February 3rd. Nevertheless, we already noticed a sizeable growth in the event: a 40% increase in net surface, 300 exhibitors when they were only 180 two years ago. We should leave time to European firms to discover the concept and the results of the event before being a key moment in their agenda. There are three times more foreign exhibitors this year. Don’t you think that the message has got through?”