INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO EFFICIENT POLICY INTERVENTION IN THE EUROPEAN PORT SECTOR

Despite the growing role of private involvement in recent port developments, most maritime trade is still largely handled in ports where investments, pricing and other managerial decisions are, to a varying extent, dependent, or at least influenced by public bodies. This paper shows that the extent and type of public intervention differs considerably between ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range. The wide variety in ownership, financing and management of ports throughout Europe indicates that there is no level playing field at present. Because ports operate in an increasingly competitive environment (intensified by globalisation trends and the completion of the internal market), this may lead to situations of unfair competition. The European Union emphasises the importance of a more harmonised approach of port regulation by national governments (in terms of financing and pricing of infrastructure). Given the differences in (national) port management styles and the low levels of transparency, the creation of a level playing field in the European port industry seems far away. This suggests the presence of a major institutional difference in European transport policy that hampers efficient policy intervention.