Introduction

When reevaluating and redefining its Strategy, EuDA identified 5 clusters of key problems and issues faced by the European Dredgers:

Unsuited and Messy Legal Framework

Dredging is at the centre of many European legislations regulating its operations (dredging & offshore projects), its working equipment (e.g. dredging & offshore vessels) and its people (seafarers, engineers, working permits, visas, …). The continuous development of (new) legislation at all levels (international, regional, national, sub-national) has significantly increased legal complexity which, in turn, often creates various levels of legal uncertainty.

Labour Availability, Qualifications, Mobility

Dredging, like many other maritime sectors is faced with a significant lack of qualified staff (seafarers, engineers, …). This situation is also aggravated by labour mobility issues (restrictions on certification, visas and working permits) and by working conditions restrictions (e.g. working hours) inside and outside the EU.

Unfair Competition

The global emergence of non-EU State-owned Enterprises (SoEs) supported by their national frameworks of tied financing schemes has significantly distorted global competition. Heavy subsidy schemes allow these SoEs to gain markets at the expense of their foreign competitors. Competitive companies need level playing field to be able to fairly compete on merit (knowledge, experience, skill, technology, quality of the delivered services, added value to society and price). In Europe, there is still work to do to fully eliminate the reverse discrimination whereby only the EU subsidies (State aid) are regulated while non-EU subsidies are left mostly untackled.

Not Future Oriented Governance

The Green Deal requires legislations to become future-proof and climate-proof. This also requires attention and work from the Member States’ national administrations to adapt their governance to achieve these future-proof and climate-proof objectives.

Enforcement and Compliance Checking

Levels of enforcement and compliance checking are very variable between countries and within countries, including in the EU. A more effective and better targeted system should be considered and implemented.

On the basis of these clusters, EuDA established its Long-Term Vision.

EuDA’s Long-Term Vision

EuDA’s Long-Term Vision prioritises the main issues of each cluster and defines strategic objectives. These objectives will be achieved progressively through annual action plans.

The main issues for each cluster are:

Simple, Harmonised and Clear European legislations

Many of the national legislations in force in EU Member States are rooted in European legislation. However, differences emerge from their transposition into national legislations as well as from their implementation and enforcement. In order to tackle these issues, EuDA has defined the following specific objectives:

  • Rules & regulations should be the same in all EU countries
    In general, EU legislative frameworks should be simple and transparent, harmonised, make sense, stay fair, including at national level.
  • Less (no more) “can” in the directives
    The complexification of rules (and difficulty to implement) is often the result of a legal flexibility (using the wording “can”) granted to Member States.
  • Harmonise & simplify procedures for certificates, work permits, visas
    As mentioned above under 2.1.1, the EU legislative frameworks and their multiple national transpositions should be harmonised and remain simple, transparent and predictable. This is particularly the case for certificates, work permits, visas of crews and seafarers.

Improved Labour Availability, Qualifications, Mobility

In order to tackle the issues identified under the Labour Availability, Qualifications, Mobility cluster, EuDA has defined the following specific objectives:

  • Review restrictions and obstacles to hire and mobilise staff for projects
    There is a significant lack of qualified staff (seafarers, engineers, …), aggravated by labour mobility issues (restrictions on certification, visas and working permits) and by working conditions restrictions (e.g. working hours) inside and outside the EU. Alignment of rules with the Maritime Labour Convention would make them clearer and easy to apply for non-EU labourers worldwide (not just EU).
  • Clarify the hierarchy of laws
    Applicable labour laws exist at International, European and national levels and when they overlap, clarification is often needed on the hierarchy of application of these laws to dredgers and offshore services vessels.
  • Technological alternatives
    Unmanned ships may resolve some short-term labour issues but may create other issues in the long term.

Unhindered Market Access & Fair Competition worldwide

In order to tackle the issues identified under the Unfair Competition cluster, EuDA has defined the following specific objectives:

  • Remove restrictions and obstacles for European Players (cabotage laws, bureaucracy)
    Administrative difficulties and obstacles can deter unwanted competitors from accessing the home market. However, they should also grant the fair competitors unhindered access to the national markets.
  • Eliminate reverse discrimination in EU Member States
    A reverse discrimination can happen in the EU when non-EU companies receive a more favourable treatment than EU companies. The typical example is the substantial difference of treatment between (EU) State Aid regulations and (non-EU) State subsidies rules by the European law. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation recognises the issue but due to the high thresholds required for its activation, nearly no dredging project is covered.
  • Raise the awareness of the authorities of the degradation of our competitive situation
    Following the emergence of global State-owned Enterprises supported by a framework of tied financing schemes, the presumption that good companies don’t need protection, is (partially) wrong and even good companies need level playing field to be protected from unfair trade practices.
  • A framework of European-equivalent values (environmental, ethical and labour standards) should be enforced on all companies working on EU funded projects, including non-EU companies.
  • Creation of a European Development and Export Bank
    Because State-owned competitors provide cheap financing to their clients and win market shares to the detriment of European companies, Europe needs to create a European Development and Export Bank to help its companies in financing their clients too.

More Future Oriented Governance

In order to tackle the issues identified under Not Future Oriented Governance cluster, EuDA has defined the following specific objectives:

  • Goal-based legislation, future oriented and climate-proof rules
    The quality of policies is determined by their capacity to look into the future and successfully pass the test of time.
  • Exceptions for novel or new engineering
    Novel or new engineering is often well ahead of technical regulation. Exceptions should be considered to allowing and frame novel engineering.
    Dialogue with the industry is essential.

Enforcement and Compliance Checking

In order to tackle the issues identified under Enforcement and Compliance Checking cluster, the SocCom has defined the following specific objectives:

  • Uniform check lists for equal treatment
    In order to harmonise the treatment of dredgers in the EU, uniform check lists should be developed and commonly applied by the Member States’ administrations.
  • EU Framework on compliance checking
    Finally, an EU Framework (and European Agency or equivalent) could be considered for compliance checking.