European shipowners organised a seminar on EU funding in Brussels.
A discussion took place between the Commission and shipping companies aiming at identifying any challenges shipowners face in the EU funding application process.
“Together with the Commission we want to solve the mismatch between the oversubscription of the Motorways of the Sea (MoS) and the fact that the MoS envelope is not entirely spent, but we also want to improve the visibility of the funding for the shipowners”, commented ECSA’s Secretary General Martin Dorsman on the event.
“During the discussions, the following key-messages from the shipowners came across: The Commission should make sure that small and bigger shipping companies would have the same opportunity to receive funding, it should increase communication with the industry in order to pinpoint the real needs, the award criteria of relevance, maturity, quality and impact should always be kept in mind and the selection criteria should be made more transparent”, he concluded.
A wide range of stakeholders participated and shared information on the programmes and best practices including shipping companies, DG MOVE, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).