Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka will represent Finland at the Informal Meeting of EU Transport Ministers in Opatija, Croatia, on 10-11 March 2020. The meeting will focus on maritime transport.
The Ministers will hold a policy debate on environmental objectives and on maintaining competitiveness in the maritime sector.
Finland emphasises ambitious climate targets both within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the EU. In Finland's view, success in reaching the objectives is strongly based on digitalisation, new technologies and automation.
"In the transport sector, strong regulation is needed in the EU in order to move, on a long-term basis, towards emissions reduction," the Finnish Government says. It is Finland's view that careful impact assessment will be needed, if the emissions trading scheme is to be extended to the maritime and road transport sectors.
Emissions reduction methods
Finland prioritises efficient solutions that provide shipping companies and operators with the opportunity to choose the emissions reduction methods best suited to them.
At the meeting, the Ministers will adopt a declaration on the transition towards carbon neutral, automated and competitive shipping and inland waterway transport. On the basis of this so-called Opatija Declaration, conclusions are to be drawn up for adoption at the Transport Council meeting in July 2020.
In addition to the meeting programme, Minister Harakka will have bilateral meetings with José Luis Ábalos Mecon, Minister of Transport of Spain, and Kitack Lim, Secretary-General of IMO.
