The Minister of Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy of Greece warned the European Committee that the European economy is based on a strong European shipping.
More specifically he said: "Greek shipping is a protagonist in the world and the first shipping power in Europe. That is why it would be a big mistake if we did not take full advantage of this fact, precisely to be able to promote the interests of Greek shipping and the interests of Greece in general.
In other words, we want Greece, as a protagonist in shipping, to play a decisive role in shaping the policies to come. And it is a difficult crossroads, which will have many dilemmas, especially regarding the issues of the "green" transition in shipping. Who will remain protagonists and who will be sidelined.
It is a historic moment especially in shipping and we must show great adaptive abilities and keep our vanguard. I have no doubt about the value of seagoing Greek shipping it has always had an excellent ability to adapt and that is why he maintains this role. However, in matters of coastal shipping, there should be a very large amount of help from the state.
Based on this I visited some of the European capitals, to present to my counterparts and others who have an important role in the European maritime events, some initiatives and behind-the-scenes consultations on the basis of three axes. The first axis is Greece, the great maritime power, as the bridge between the European Union and the IMO. You realize that the IMO is the International Organization that creates the frameworks of behavior in the big bets of shipping and I firmly believe - and I have experienced it up close these five months - that Greece can be the best bridge between the IMO and the European Union - European Commission.
It helps us a lot that, despite the great geopolitical difficulties, we managed to be first again in the voting that took place. This gives us negotiative advantages and we must take advantage of them.
And this introduces me to the second axis of initiatives, which we have already launched. It is an axis that seeks to promote within the European edifice and the European framework, the concept of the "blue" economy, sustainable "green" shipping, within the logic of a competitive Europe.
There are competitiveness problems of the European economies and at the same time the game of competitiveness has changed on many levels. To all this should be added the pandemic, geopolitics, the Ukrainian, what is happening in the Red Sea, what is happening in Gaza. We should therefore take them into account as geopolitical parameters and keep, at all costs, the competitiveness of the European economy very high.
The competitiveness of the European economy is based on a strong European shipping. And a strong European shipping is based on a strong Greek shipping. Things have this order, this hierarchy.
With this in mind, we have therefore started a discussion with my counterparts on exactly how to keep European shipping competitiveness, to the extent that it contributes to Europe's overall competitive position. It is a broad topic entitled "The Blue Economy in Europe". This is the second axis.
The third axis of the initiatives we had during this period was how we will use, as much as possible, European funding to strengthen and help the "green" transition, especially in coastal shipping. We have already started many efforts. We are in negotiation with Commissioners and with various DGs in the Commission. That is why on my last trip to Brussels, I had many meetings with Commissioners, precisely about how we will use European funding to help our coastal shipping, which is in difficulties. To make the "green" transition in the right way, in order to help upgrade our coastal shipping.
Because there is always room for improvement and at the same time to become as safe as possible, within the logic of the "green" transition, which is also a European goal.
We have of course said, repeatedly, using as a motto what the Prime Minister said at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP 27) that, in this process, we must be radical, but at the same time we must also be realists. And I think this has already started and is happening in all European forums and in European capitals. It was a fixed Greek position from the beginning and we discussed this constantly, namely the interconnection of the IMO standards with the standards of the European Commission.
These are the three axes on which the initiatives were based and will continue, of course, because we are still at the beginning.
I have already visited Paris, where I had a meeting with the relevant Deputy Minister and we discussed all the issues. In Brussels, a trip that took place in the previous days, also included participation in the well-known Conference of the Belgian Presidency for the well-being of seafarers, the "Brussels Conference on the Wellbeing of Seafarers". I also visited Berlin, where I saw the Minister and we discussed all these matters. How we see the concept of the "blue" economy in Europe. How European money is used and how Europe will pass its positions in the IMO and not come to the point of hurting its own competitiveness."
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