The Federation of European Private Port Operators (FEPORT) has welcomed the European Commission's Clean Industrial Deal and Omnibus proposals, while calling for faster permitting of grid and renewable projects and lower clean energy prices to maintain EU ports' competitiveness. In a press release on 27 February 2025, FEPORT Secretary General Lamia Kerdjoudj stressed that terminal operators are taking real steps toward decarbonisation, but high energy prices and slow permitting risk undermining their efforts relative to third-country ports.
FEPORT's statement builds on earlier warnings about EU port competitiveness. On 3 February 2026 in Marseille, Kerdjoudj highlighted that longer permitting timelines in the EU compared to the Southern Mediterranean and UK threaten ports' strategic role in connectivity and industrial competitiveness. The Clean Industrial Deal, first proposed by Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra in November 2025, aims to balance climate goals with economic growth. Hoekstra later ruled out suspending the EU ETS in April 2026, signalling looser caps post-2030 to aid industry.
FEPORT particularly supports the Deal's plans to lower energy prices and cut permitting times for grid, energy storage, and renewable projects. The organisation looks forward to the State aid simplification proposals in June 2025 and the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan, which could accelerate green technology deployment in ports. Kerdjoudj emphasised that terminal operators' role in the green transition should be recognised in EU green finance policies, notably the Taxonomy framework.
The call for faster permitting aligns with the European Commission's broader push for simplification. Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque proposed simplifying the sustainable finance framework in February 2026, while the EEA's April 2026 briefing noted that circular economy sectors remain niche at 1.8% of EU GDP. Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas announced a forthcoming EU Ports Strategy in December 2025, which FEPORT has urged to prioritise competitiveness.
Analytical Core The Clean Industrial Deal and FEPORT's response reveal a cleavage between accelerating the green transition and maintaining industrial competitiveness. Faster permitting and cheaper clean energy benefit EU port operators and shipping companies by reducing operational costs and investment barriers, but may strain grid capacity and environmental oversight. The Deal's support for clean technologies could boost EU producers of renewable energy equipment, while national authorities face pressure to streamline approval processes. The Taxonomy revision aims to reduce red tape for companies, potentially easing compliance burdens for terminal operators, but risks diluting environmental safeguards if not carefully calibrated. Overall, the trade-off is between speed of decarbonisation and regulatory rigour, with moderate positive impact on port competitiveness and moderate negative impact on environmental stringency if permitting shortcuts are not paired with robust standards.
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