On May 15, 2025, nineteen EU Member States adopted the Szczecin Declaration, emphasising the need for an ambitious EU Industrial Maritime Strategy to bolster the competitiveness and resilience of Europe’s shipping, shipbuilding, and maritime manufacturing industries.
The declaration underscores the strategic importance of the maritime sector for Europe’s energy supply, supply chain, and food security. It highlights challenges such as global competition, high energy costs, skilled workforce shortages, and investment gaps—particularly in green technologies and shipbuilding.
Key priorities outlined in the declaration include:
- Enhancing Global Competitiveness: Recognising the decline in the EU-controlled shipping fleet’s global tonnage share from 38.5% in 2018 to 33.6% in 2024, the declaration calls for measures to strengthen the EU’s position in the global maritime industry.
- Workforce Development: Addressing the aging workforce and the need for upskilling, with an estimated requirement to re- and up-skill up to 250,000 EU seafarers over the next decade, focusing on advanced technologies and alternative fuels
- Financial Instruments: Highlighting the challenges posed by high energy costs and the need for supportive financial instruments to facilitate investments in maritime industries, noting that strict EU banking regulations have made European commercial banks risk-averse, impacting maritime investments.
- Maritime Security: Emphasising that maritime security is essential for safeguarding trade routes, shipyards, ports, and other maritime infrastructure, thereby contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy and the resilience of its maritime industrial base.
- Regulatory Framework: Stressing the importance of internationally recognised regulations and conventions, especially those established by the IMO and ILO, to promote a fair and consistent framework for safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime transport.
The declaration urges the European Commission to swiftly present a comprehensive, fit-for-purpose Industrial Maritime Strategy that addresses these concerns and ensures Europe remains a global maritime leader.
