(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).
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