Port monopolies, concessions, tariffs and labour: what does the EU Seaports Regulation change? An EU port policy evening – Antwerp, 12 March 2020

POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE BECAUSE OF THE CORONA EPIDEMIC

Content and purpose

PORTIUS organises a special EU port policy evening in the headquarters of the Port Authority of Antwerp.

Alderman of the port Annick De Ridder will welcome the participants and highlight the key European role of the port of Antwerp.

Professor Eric Van Hooydonk will deliver a policy-oriented keynote lecture on the practical impact of the EU Seaports Regulation on port monopolies, concessions, tariffs and labour.

EU port lawyer José Fernandez García will explain, on behalf of the European Commission, how the implementation and enforcement of the regulation will be handled.

Finally, a panel of EU and local experts will discuss the genesis and practical implications of the Regulation, including the way in which the Antwerp Port Authority and the Flemish Ministry of Public Works will implement and enforce it.

Participation is free of charge.

Participants will have the opportunity to purchase the new book on the EU Seaports Regulation by Professor Van Hooydonk, which has 1307 pages, at a substantial discount. The day after, PORTIUS organises a full-day legal Crash Course on the EU Seaports Regulation at the Maritime Institute of Ghent University.

The event is supported by the Belgian Maritime Law Association, the Port of Antwerp and various EU and national port sector organisations.

Programme

18h00 – The key role of the port of Antwerp in the EU by Annick De Ridder, Chairman of the Port of Antwerp

18h10 – Port monopolies, concessions, tariffs and labour: what does the EU Seaports Regulation change for daily practice? by Professor Eric Van Hooydonk, Chairman of Portius – International and EU Port Law Centre

18h45 – The EU Seaports Regulation – How the European Commission will monitor its application and enforce its provisions by José Fernandez García, Policy officer at DG MOVE, European Commission, Brussels

19h05 – Panel discussion with

  • Dimitrios Theologitis, former Head of the ports policy Unit at the European Commission and official in charge of the EU Seaports Regulation
  • Guy Janssens, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at the Antwerp Port Authority
  • Capt. Stein Inge Dahn, President of the European Maritime Pilots’ Association (EMPA)
  • NN, Flemish Ministry of Public Works, Ports policy unit, Brussels

19h40 – Reception offered by the Port of Antwerp and PORTIUS

21h00 – End

Date and venue

Date: Thursday 12 March 2020, 18h00 – 20h30

Venue: Antwerp Port House, Zaha Hadidplein 1, 2030 Antwerp, Belgium.

Participants may use the guarded underground car park of the Port House free of charge (entrance via Mexico Street).

Target audience

  • Port managers
  • Port terminal operators
  • Ship owners
  • Pilots
  • Tug owners
  • Mooringmen
  • Shipping agents
  • Freight forwarders
  • Port policy makers
  • Harbour masters
  • Insurers
  • Lawyers
  • Media

Terms of participation and registration

Participation in the event and reception is entirely free of charge, but subject to prior registration. Participants are kindly invited to register via this link.

Special discount code for buyers of the book ‘The EU Seaports Regulation’

Participants can order the book ‘The EU Seaports Regulation’ at a special 25 percent discount via this link. Please use the discount code ‘Book Launch’ upon check-out.

Professional training schemes for lawyers

Flemish lawyers will gain 1 point under the continuing professional development scheme for Flemish lawyers, operated by the Order of Flemish Bars (Orde van Vlaamse Balies – OVB). The organizers have also applied for the recognition of the event as part of the professional development scheme for in-house company lawyers operated by the Institute of Company Lawyers (Instituut voor Bedrijfsjuristen). On that basis, the participants will receive a certificate of attendance.