Andreas Hadjiyiannis, President, Cyprus Union of Shipowners has called for the European Union to recognise the importance of the European shipping sector’s contribution and better support it instead of bringing in new legislation he described as "a huge blow."
Speaking at a 9 October dinner at the Presidential Palace on the occasion of the Maritime Cyprus Conference, Hadjiyiannis said European shipping was currently at “the most critical juncture” in its battle for global prominence.
“The criticality was recognised for the first time at the European Shipping Summit 2023 a few days ago in Brussels. The delegates pointed out the need for EU cooperation with the UK and the United States of America to prevent the risk of loss of European Shipping to third powers,” he noted.
Hadjiyiannis continued that the theme of this year’s Maritime Cyprus event, ‘Shipping in Action - A Call for Change’ perfectly reflected the need for Europe “to immediately and radically change its unfriendly approach to European Shipping.”
“Shipping today needs to ’Make a leap faster than decay,’ as the poet (Odysseas Elytis) says. This, in practice, means that the European Union must perceive European Shipping not only as a tool that guarantees a global presence in the markets free of expediency and ensuring that everyone without exception can enjoy its services seamlessly, but also as an independent capital, an emblematic flag for democratic ideals, open societies and freedom of cooperation,” he went on to say.
Hadjiyiannis suggested that the EU was instead imposing burdens on shipping, moving in contrast to non-European competitors, “which, in the context of a state-controlled economy model, have highlighted their shipping as a factor of strategic importance and reward its all-round development in every way.”
The President of the Cyprus Union of Shipowners gave the example of the European Parliament voting to implement the Emissions Trading System (ETS) in shipping, on the model of the corresponding ETS in industry, “where a fee on the polluter is imposed - an environmental measure, with which we agreed and for which we even submitted a rational plan for its implementation.”
Hadjiyiannis continued that, instead, the new directive put the fee burden on shipowners, noting, “This measure is not consistent with either the letter or the spirit of the European Parliament's resolution. It is totally out of harmony with it and should be abolished.”
He noted that, with the Cyprus Union of Shipowners’ full cooperation, the Cypriot government was proceeding to pass a law harmonised with the resolution of the European Parliament, in order to ensure that the fee is borne, “as is reasonable,” by the polluter. Hadjiyiannis explained that in this case, the polluter was the seller or buyer of the cargo, “whose decisions to transport the cargo determine the resulting pollutants.”
He thanked President Nikos Christodoulides for his contribution towards efforts to prevent what Hadjiyiannis described as “this huge blow to our Shipping.”
Among other things, in his address Hadjiyiannis also referred to the Hellenic world’s long history in shipping and called on the new generation to embrace the sector when considering their career path.
(Hadjiyiannis is pictured above, with Christodoulides and Shipping Deputy Minister to the President Marina Hadjimanolis at the event at the Presidential Palace.)
