On December 23, 2016 we informed about the adoption by the European Parliament, of the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council 2017/352 dated February 15, 2017 establishing a framework for the provision of port services and common rules on financial transparency of ports. The regulation was signed on 15 February 2017 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 3 March 2017.
Therefore, please note that the new regulations are primarily to increase the transparency of fees for the use of services and port infrastructure, which is intended to prevent unfair competition between ports by ensuring equal conditions for their development.
The regulations need clear accounting system, the list of received public funds and improvement of the transparency of the information concerning the way of charging for services and port infrastructure. Member States will also have to ensure the introduction of working methods for handling complaints.
The subject of the new regulations are also minimum requirements for providers of port services such as towing, mooring, loading and disposal of waste from ships, including those relating to environmental protection and the protection of health and safety of the suppliers' employees. In principle, this will allow ports to reduce the overall number of suppliers operating in their areas.
In Poland, five ports: Szczecin, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Świnoujście and Police will be covered by its provisions.
The Regulation will enter into force on 23 March 2017 and will apply from 24 March 2019 however, it will not apply to contracts for the provision of port services, which were concluded before 15 February 2017.
- Maciej Jaśkiewicz