Shaping the Best Competitive Ports in EU Islands

Date: 9th December 2021 from 14:30 to 17:45 CET

Online webinar with simultaneous translation in English, French and Spanish

The main objective of the AspBAN project is to exchange best practices for the implementation of more competitive ports of the future in EU islands through the diversification and modernization of their services and infrastructures. The workshop will discuss its key findings in relation to opportunities and challenges for port services and gather valuable insights, based on existing practices and experiences of regions and their priorities in the matter. Most importantly, the event will showcase CPMR Islands Commission regions to nourish the technical and political debate concerning the future of ports infrastructures, in view of specific policy recommendations to be addressed to the EU Institutions to develop the new generation of blue policies, in particular as related to the blue ecosystem potential of ports as blue economy hubs.

The online event will be divided in two session. The first session will present the key results of the AspBAN project and regional insular representatives will exchange best practices on the diversification of ports services as well as upcoming opportunities and challenges. The second session will be dedicated to the modernisation of ports infrastructures in Islands as an opportunity to discuss the current challenges, the lessons learnt from past experiences and the futures perspectives for islands. The event will include reactions from the European Commission DG MARE, the European Parliament and a specific focus on hydrogen, with a keynote speech by Bart Bieybuck, Executive Director of Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.