No to EU Port-Service Plan

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected plans to liberalize port services across the European Union that had sparked mass strikes by dockworkers and a violent protest in front of the EU legislature.

The parliament voted 532-120 against the draft legislation, which proposed opening cargo handling to competition in ports where loading and unloading currently is run by monopoly handlers. The bill also would have allowed ship’s crews to handle cargo themselves on some EU routes.

The vote was welcomed by dock workers’ unions and some EU governments, which feared the new legislation would compromise safety and do little to enhance competition at European ports.

“This is a good day for our harbor and logistics sites as well as for the employees of the maritime industry,” German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said. “Rather than encouraging competition, maritime sites and jobs — not just in Germany — would have been endangered by Port Package II.”

On Monday, dockworkers and Strasbourg police clashed. during a march through Strasbourg and smashed windows at the European Parliament building in protest over the proposals Strikes and work slowdowns also disrupted cargo handling at several major ports as trade unions pressed their opposition to the bill.

EU legislators condemned the violence, but some said the dock workers’ frustration was understandable and argued that the legislation would do nothing to enhance the competitiveness of European ports