On 23 September 2026, FEPORT Secretary General Ms Lamia Kerdjoudj participated in the 16th Assises Port du Futur, held in Strasbourg on 23 and 24 September.
Organised by Cerema with the support of the Port of Strasbourg, the event coincided with the port’s centenary and brought together representatives of ports, public authorities and the maritime sector to discuss the main challenges facing ports in France and across Europe.
Ms Kerdjoudj contributed to a panel dedicated to port strategy alongside Mr Jean-Frédéric Laurent, Ms Sarah Amri, Mr Olaf Merk and Mr Nicolas Michael. She presented FEPORT’s views on the conditions required for European ports to remain attractive, competitive and capable of delivering the Union’s wider strategic objectives.
Competitiveness, she stressed, must remain at the heart of the EU Ports Strategy.
European ports operate in an international market and face increasingly dynamic competition from neighbouring non-EU ports. These competitors are often able to develop new greenfield projects and are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as operators established in the European Union. Europe cannot therefore take its attractiveness to investors or shipping lines for granted.
Attracting private investment will be essential. Port authorities and public funding alone cannot cover the scale of investment required to expand capacity, improve hinterland connections, strengthen security and support the energy and digital transitions.
In this respect, FEPORT welcomes the recognition within the EU Ports Strategy that ports need a stable and predictable legal framework. Legal certainty for port contracts, including concession and terminal agreements, is fundamental for long-term investments.
The European approach to foreign investment must also remain balanced. Legitimate security concerns should be addressed through proportionate and transparent assessments without creating uncertainty that discourages reliable international investors.
Investment needs across the European port sector have been estimated at approximately €80 billion through 2034. Public resources are limited, while transport, energy, defence and other strategic sectors are competing for the same funding.
The private sector is ready to contribute, but this requires clear and workable financing conditions.
FEPORT has therefore called for greater clarity regarding the State aid framework, including through the revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation. Although commercial activities should continue to be financed by operators themselves, investments serving a wider public interest require a different approach.
Rail connections, military mobility infrastructure, energy networks, cybersecurity and decarbonisation projects generate benefits that extend well beyond individual terminals. The relevant financing and State aid rules should recognise their infrastructure and public-interest dimension.
Ms Kerdjoudj also underlined that ports and terminals are being asked to contribute to a growing number of European policy objectives. These range from combating drug trafficking and strengthening cyber resilience to facilitating military mobility, deploying clean-energy infrastructure and accelerating digitalisation.
Delivering all these objectives will require more than regulation.
Port authorities, private terminal operators, public institutions and investors must be involved from the outset. A genuine public-private dialogue is essential to identify operational constraints, allocate responsibilities and ensure that European policies can be implemented effectively at port level.
The value of the EU Ports Strategy lies in its recognition of both international competition and the need for stronger cooperation among European ports. Such cooperation is particularly important in areas including security, military mobility, decarbonisation and the fight against organised crime.
Europe’s ports are ready to invest and innovate. The challenge now is to provide them with the legal certainty, infrastructure funding and public-private partnerships needed to do so.
