(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 09 DEC - A project of the Montenegrin Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs for the introduction of other concessionaires for pilotage in the Port of Bar area, one of the most important harbors in the Adriatic, may endanger navigation safety and security, Erich Cossutta, president and shareholder of the company Ocean Montenegro and deputy president of Confindustria Est Europa, told ANSA. Cossutta added that the initiative could be also in violation of the existing contract with the current concessionaire, Ocean Montenegro, company that has announced the possibility to bring Montenegro to an arbitration in London and has informed Montenegrin competent institutions, the prosecutor's office and the Anti-Corruption Agency. Ocean Montenegro is a company controlled by Ocean Team, from Trieste, since 2011 the only concession holder for port services at the port of Bar. The Montenegrin Ministry of Transport has launched a call in November for awarding a new concession for pilotage services at Bar, justifying it by an increase in maritime traffic. Ocean claims the traffic is declining on the basis of official data and that a new concession will be in contrast with local laws, Cossutta told ANSA. According to Ocean Montenegro, this might be also in breach of EU regulations and practice. Montenegro is still not part of the EU, but the Balkan nation is a candidate country and it is supposed to align with EU 'acquis'. According to the Italian entrepreneur, the decision of the Montenegrin Ministry of Transport that could open the doors to new concessionaires could be based on wrong data and "does not only send a message of legal uncertainty to credible investors, but is contrary to European practice and regulations and may endanger navigation safety and security," Cossutta claims. "There has been no increase in workload in the last five years," Cossutta told ANSA, noting that pilotage services are generally considered a services of public interest and are therefore exempted from the EU rules on access to the market and protection of competition. "Pilotage provides a necessary and unique service in the maritime industry, which, if open to competition, would endanger maritime safety and security, environmental protection and port efficiency," he claimed. However, Cossutta concluded, the decision of one ministry will not "harm the cooperation we have with the Montenegrin government, with whom we wish to continue working on the basis of good business practices and EU business principles." (ANSA).