ESPO wants more ambition on the harmonisation of data
(Posted on 28/09/18)
ESPO welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment (COM2018 278 final). The European Sea Ports Organisation is the principal interface between European seaports and the European institutions and its policy makers. For European ports though, reducing the administrative burden in maritime transport and facilitating trade is a top priority. ESPO wants more ambition on the harmonisation of data definitions and data sets, while maintaining the existing reporting systems. This would further reduce the administrative burden and would facilitate trade. This is the guiding principle of ESPO’s position paper in response to the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment which was published on 17 May.
For European ports, the first priority should be to simplify administrative procedures by ensuring that the same data sets can be reported to each competent authority in the same way. In this context, ESPO welcomes the establishment of a harmonised data set. However, there is still work to be conducted to define the data set in detail - both data elements and data definitions. At the same time, ESPO agrees with the proposal to allow Member States to introduce or amend data requirements as in some cases ports might need to ask additional data to respond to exceptional circumstances. In that respect, this flexibility should also be extended to individual competent authorities.
ESPO in particular welcomes that the proposal builds upon the existing National Single Windows, while also allowing the reporting to be carried out through the Port Community Systems (PCS). The proposal rightly acknowledges the well functioning of PCS’s and the investments already made. European ports highlight that any solution should be technology neutral and should focus on data harmonisation.
Furthermore, a governance mechanism for the National Single Window should be established giving it the competence to store and redistribute data to the respective authorities. Otherwise, the proposal would not result in trade facilitation and simplification, but would just shift the burden from the ship side to the competent authorities.
Finally, ESPO considers the “reporting once principle” a valid means to achieve the objectives of the proposal, provided that it covers the re-use of data that do not change between subsequent port calls and takes into consideration the limited amount of data to be reused between authorities at a given port call.
Latest News
Ports can be renewable energy hubs
(Posted on 06/07/20)Ports can play a pivotal role in the world’s decarbonization challenge and provide a blueprint... Read more
Marmedsa consolidates Algerian leadership
(Posted on 06/07/20)Three ships operated by the shipping company TransMed Express (TME) with the shipping agents Marmedsa... Read more
Risk management concerns rise at ports
(Posted on 30/06/20)The deadly spread of COVID-19, and the economic and trade disruption the pandemic has caused, is prompting... Read more
FTA enables emergency services in UAE waters
(Posted on 30/06/20)The Federal Transport Authority (FTA) - Land & Maritime has signed a Memorandum of Understanding... Read more
Top-class line up for TMS webinar
(Posted on 30/06/20)The Maritime Standard has assembled an exceptionally high-quality panel for its next Webinar in the... Read more
Pushed barge trackers to improve safety
(Posted on 25/06/20)Port of Antwerp and the Gent area of the North Sea Port are aiming to further digitalise inland waterways... Read more
Dutch Seaports win Sustainability Award
(Posted on 25/06/20)The Dutch seaports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Terneuzen/Vlissingen, Moerdijk, and Groningen have jointly... Read more
Partnership enhances Canadian supply chain assets
(Posted on 19/06/20)HOPA Ports and Max Aicher North America (MANA) have announced an agreement to cooperate on the future... Read more
Haifa moves forward with Navis
(Posted on 18/06/20)Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation, and the provider of operational technologies and services that... Read more
Outstanding results at Trois-Rivières
(Posted on 18/06/20)The Trois-Rivières Port Authority (TRPA) has held its annual general assembly, which was an opportunity... Read more
