As the shadow rapporteur for the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, I have always upheld the following points that are raised in the final report: the need to use existing opportunities in terms of European funding or State aid to develop and purchase advanced and environmentally-responsible facilities and to better integrate them into the European port network; the need for local and regional authorities to make use of the possibilities their ports offer to develop their regions, creating more transport intermodality and competitiveness between ports; the need to improve current social conditions in the maritime sector, in pa ...[+++]rticular through better training, lifelong learning and better safety conditions in the workplace; the need to enhance the European Union’s competitive position as a global maritime power, in particular by strengthening regulatory frameworks in the area of maritime safety and financial incentives, rules to aid public or private investors from various backgrounds; improving the adaptation of existing ports to strict environmental requirements, in particular in terms of reducing greenhouse gases; strengthening the current regulatory framework for ports, as variables determining the global equilibrium; adapting the European port system to extremely rapid technological development without disregarding the environmental impact; accepting that some investments by public authorities may not be seen as State aids, for outermost regions and islands, when they are essential to ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion, as long as they do not benefit a single user or operator, and recognising the specific situation of outermost regions as recognised in the Treaty on European Union.

Actually, I should like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Commission and the rapporteurs – Mrs Westland, Mrs Doyle and Mrs Drčar Murko – on the work they have done and on their cooperation with the shadow rapporteurs, particularly Mrs Drčar Murko, with whom I worked as the shadow rapporteur for the Socialist Group in the European Parliament.