On 3rd February, 2026, FEPORT participated in EUROMARITIME 2026 in Marseille, one of Europe’s leading maritime cluster exhibitions bringing together stakeholders from across the shipping, port, logistics and marine energy sectors. As key interfaces between land and sea, EU ports are increasingly at the centre of policy strategies and industrial ambitions, particularly in the current geopolitical context marked by evolving trade patterns and growing security challenges.
During the event, FEPORT Secretary General Ms Lamia Kerdjoudj participated in a panel discussion on the upcoming EU Maritime Industrial and Ports Strategies, where she underlined the importance of ensuring that the future EU Ports Strategy actively supports competitiveness alongside sustainability objectives. “We need an offensive strategy that places competitiveness at the heart of the priorities” she said.
Highlighting the scale of the transformation currently underway in European ports, Ms Kerdjoudj added: “We cannot surrender and accept that EU Ports, which are going major transformations to implement many public policies in the field of the fight against drug trafficking, decarbonisation, energy transition, fight against cyber threats besides continuing their transhipment roles for cargo and passengers, lose their competitiveness”.
She further stressed the global competitive environment in which EU ports operate, noting that: “We are not alone, EU Ports are surrounded by non-competitors which are doing better in terms of attractiveness, and which do not have the same legal frameworks and rules to apply (environment, permitting, State Aid etc..). This should be the priority of the EU Ports Strategy: our ports should remain attractive to investors who apply our rules otherwise they will invest outside the EU. The private sector in ports is ready to play its role provided that the legal framework is stable and the return on investment is possible.”
EUROMARITIME also served as the launching platform for the SAFEDIGIMAR project involving FEPORT, Federazione del Mare and France Cyber Maritime. Supported by the European Commission, the project aims to promote the implementation of the NIS 2 Directive within the maritime sector over a three-year period by strengthening cybersecurity across port and logistics ecosystems.
Structured around three strategic objectives, SAFEDIGIMAR seeks to enhance the protection of network and information systems across the EU maritime sector, establish a secure and harmonised cross-border incident reporting framework, and improve cooperation with national authorities and law enforcement bodies to ensure timely detection and reporting of cyber threats. Through the provision of practical tools, training activities and monitoring mechanisms, the project aims to support companies in improving preparedness and resilience in an increasingly digitalised operational environment.
