Consultation Responses

Consultation Response on the Commission’s ProtectEU Strategy

Danish Ports would like to express its gratitude for the opportunity to submit a consultation response to the ProtectEU strategy.

In general, we agree that security is the foundation upon which our society is built, and that a common European approach to safeguarding internal security is necessary. We welcome the fact that ports are so clearly highlighted throughout the document as being crucial when it comes to countering new threats, securing the ports themselves, and improving security in the EU’s supply chain. Specifically, we have the following comments:

Background checks at ports ( p. 17, penultimate paragraph):

In the upcoming EU Port Strategy, it is important to focus on:

• Responsibility for combating drug trafficking lies with the authorities, which is why the efforts and resources of the police and customs must be strengthened. 
• To ensure proportionality by taking a balanced approach to the benefits achieved in relation to the burdens imposed by screening.
• Ports vary greatly, which is why a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. Therefore, leave it up to the member states to decide how the system should be structured.
• To ensure a sufficient workforce in the ports, be cautious about regulations that reduce the workforce (many port employees may have a minor offense on their criminal record but are still able to work in the ports)
• To use soft law (best practices and guidelines) instead of legislation.

Expansion of the membership of the EU Ports Alliance ( p. 22, last paragraph),

Danish Ports agrees that it is important to expand the membership of the Port Alliance to include smaller ports and inland ports as well, as this will strengthen overall port security, and because experience has shown that when the focus is on the larger ports, crime tends to shift elsewhere. Therefore, everyone must be prepared. However, this requires support for the smaller ports, which are not always equipped to combat large-scale drug trafficking.

Strengthen the framework for travel information ( p. 10, first paragraph)

The Commission will work with the transport sector to strengthen the framework for travel information by examining how the processing of passenger data for maritime travel can be streamlined. In this context, it is important to ensure proportionality, striking a balance between the benefits achieved and any burdens that may be imposed on a port.

We believe that the above can be included directly in the memo and have therefore not prepared a summary.