Maritime interests and the EU port services directive

A key theme of the EU Port Policy has been the establishment of free market access to the provision of port services in EU ports. However, two successive European Commission proposals for a relevant EU port services directive (PSD) failed to produce a new policy regime. This paper examines the mobilisation of maritime interests, aiming to identify stakeholders’ preferences and their contribution to the rejection of this port policy proposal. The analysis suggests that, although they did not share the same perspective, the views of organised maritime interests shared a common denominator: they were against the proposed EU rule due to its structural deficiencies. Assisted by the industrial heterogeneity, the difficulties to implement a ‘one size fits all ports’ policy, and the observed institutional tensions a variety of vested interests frequently with monopolistic positions contributed to the produced policy output failure.