Government staff including prime ministers and ministers of Flanders, the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia have met with port CEOs within the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Rhine-Ruhr area (ARRRA) in Meise, Belgium, to discuss strengthening ARRRA’s competitiveness on the European and global stage. Ports represented include Duisport, North Sea Port, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Port of Cologne/HGK, Port of Moerdijk, Port of Oostende and Port of Rotterdam.
According to the Port of Rotterdam’s press release, four priorities were agreed and set out:
- Stronger circular value chains and a cross-border market for raw materials, which means ‘the investment climate for the circular economy in Europe must be strengthened through the creation of an internal market for secondary raw materials and the upscaling of circular value chains, while ensuring regulatory harmonisation’.
- Accelerated expansion of energy infrastructure for CO2 and hydrogen, meaning closer cooperation on ‘CO2 transport and storage, hydrogen, pipelines and investment certainty’.
- Sustainable and resilient inland navigation due to climate change, meaning ‘stronger collaboration on strategic water management and the sustainability of inland navigation’.
- Innovative logistics through automated freight transport and drones; ‘the parties intend to use cross-border corridors, such as Antwerp-Rotterdam, to implement automated freight transport by road and water, [with] opportunities for greater cooperation in the field of drones, provided that rules and procedures are further harmonised’.
Rob Jetten, prime minister of the Netherlands, says: ‘The economic significance of our ports is self-evident. They show that the ARRRA is a shining example of what can be achieved with open trade, clean industry and circular innovation when we work together across borders.’
Matthias Diependaele, minister-president of Flanders, comments: ‘The Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia together form Europe’s largest economic and logistical hub. The port and industrial cluster centred around Antwerp, Rotterdam and the Rhine-Ruhr region generates jobs, prosperity, innovation and security of supply. It is precisely because of our interconnections that we are crucial to Europe’s industrial future. Through this Port Summit, we are further fine-tuning that cooperation: less fragmentation, less gold plating and more scope for investments that make our economy more resilient and strategically stronger.”
Marcus Optendrenk, minister of finance for North Rhine-Westphalia, concludes: ‘Our ports, waterways and logistics routes do not stop at national borders. Automated transport on roads, waterways and in the air will only become a competitive advantage if we set the rules together. North Rhine-Westphalia, Flanders and the Netherlands are showing today how this can be done.’
