No Change in EU Tax Guidelines for Shipping, Commissioner Bulc Says

The European Commission does not intend to alter the existing guidelines regarding the taxation of shipping activities, Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said during a joint press conference with the Union of Greek Shipowners President Theodore Veniamis on the sidelines of the international Posidonia 2016 shipping expo, which took place last week in Athens.

Addressing the event, Ms Bulc underlined the need to strengthen the sector through dialogue and stressed the need to “understand the business well as it is really one of the core enablers for the creation of sound policies”. 

The Commissioner underlined the need to create conditions for an equal playing field, safety and sustainability, remaining a strong global actor through connectivity and digitalization, and protecting the environment. She added that the Commission will cooperate with key stakeholders to identify the most important growing markets and further develop partnership agreements. 

“There is great opportunity of expanding partnerships in other countries… especially in 2017, which has been declared it as the ‘Maritime Year’,” she said.

Mr Veniamis said that Greek shipping has remained resilient “against all odds” and added that EU maritime policy needs to focus on the competitiveness of the fleet, “which is put at risk due to a strict interpretation and application of competition law”.

Established in 1916, the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) celebrates its century-long anniversary this year.