By Alexia Sotiriou

A working lunch was held at the Piraeus Maritime Club with the participation of the European Union Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas.

The President of the Piraeus Marine Club, Paris Xanalatos, thanked the official guests and club members for their attendance and engagement.

The Commissioner for Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, participated in the dialogue on strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of European shipping.

Tzitzikostas stressed the need for a strategic approach to the decarbonization of shipping, with an emphasis on measures such as ship retrofitting, the EU Fuel ETS regulations, and the promotion of alternative fuels. He underlined that predictability is crucial due to the high cost of investments.

As the global framework for net zero is expected to be agreed at the IMO in October 2025, he called on all governments and the EU to adopt a unified policy. He described the agreement as historic, especially in the current geopolitical and economic environment.

The Commissioner stressed that competitiveness must remain a top priority, as the Draghi report warns. At the same time, he underlined the importance of energy security and turning sustainability into a development advantage.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas also presented the European Commission’s key strategies regarding the maritime industry during an official visit to the offices of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping.

The central point of the discussion was the maintenance of the competitiveness of European shipping and the harmonization of development strategies with the international regulations of the IMO.

Particular emphasis was placed on other issues, such as planning for the shipbuilding industry, coastal shipping, yachting, port infrastructure (including marinas), the green transition, as well as the need to inform and empower the new generation for the shipping sector.

The President of the Chamber, George Alexandratos, warmly thanked the Commissioner and his staff for the substantive and honest discussion, emphasizing that “it is the duty of everyone – political leadership and institutional bodies – to defend the achievements with documented and understandable arguments.”

In this context, it was underlined that “neither we nor the EU member states should forget that a key component of competitiveness is the maintenance of small and medium-sized shipping enterprises, which in Greece constitute over 50% of the total.”

New strategy

He announced a forthcoming strategy to support shipyards in building “clean” ships, promote innovation and green ports, and develop financial instruments for sustainable maritime projects.

“We are all concerned about the escalating tensions in the Middle East, and we hope to avoid the worst,” said the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, emphasizing the need “to give time and space to diplomacy.”

“If the Strait of Hormuz is closed, it will have an extremely negative impact, but we are not there at the moment,” the Minister pointed out and noted that “the price of oil is currently at 77 dollars per barrel, lower than last year when it was 82 dollars per barrel.”

He stressed that “the government has proven that it manages crises and all the relevant ministries are monitoring developments.”

He also reassured that the flare-up in the Middle East does not affect the planning of the TIF. “The TIF plan is specific and focuses on reducing burdens for the middle class,” he said and added: “We are concerned about the housing issue and we want to intervene by providing incentives and disincentives.”