Italy to review discriminatory port dues

The European Commission has decided to request Italy to amend its rules to ensure that port dues applied are no higher for ships sailing to or from non-Italian ports than for ships sailing to or from Italian ports. The Commission considers that current Italian rules are in breach of EU legislation liberalising maritime transport between EU Member States and between Member States and non-EU countries (Regulation 4055/86).
A 2009 decree governs port dues for cargo ships in Italy. It provides that higher dues are applied to intra-EU trade than to domestic transport. Despite the fact that these increased dues are not being applied in practice, the current decree nevertheless conflicts with EU rules and ship operators do not enjoy legal certainty concerning the level of port dues. Furthermore, higher dues are actually applied to trade with non-European countries. Italy has failed so far to provide the Commission with any specific reasons for this.
The request takes the form of a reasoned opinion under EU infringement rules. This means that the Commission may refer the case to the EU Court of Justice, if Italy fails to comply with the request within two months.

Source: Transportweekly