Minister of Shipping meets with French Deputy Minister of Economy

The decarbonisation of shipping in both seafaring and coastal shipping was at the center of the meeting of the French Deputy Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery, Olivier Dussopt, with the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Giannis Pliakiotakis.

Mr. Plakiotakis noted that in the proposal of the European Commission for the integration of International Shipping in the emissions trading system, Greece, through the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has proposed the creation of a research center for alternative marine fuels and technology while also proposing the cost of complying with the “polluter pays” principle. At the same time, the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, raised, on the occasion of the implementation of the new environmental measures, the issue of coastal shipping, emphasizing the key importance of this sector for maintaining the country’s territorial cohesion and tourism.

Referring to the cooperation of the French customs authorities with the Coast Guard, he stressed that in recent years there have been significant blows to the international drug trafficking ring, with the latest incident off the coast of Senegal resulting in the arrest and seizure of traffickers with a large amount of cocaine.

“Greece and France”, added Mr. Plakiotakis, “share common democratic values, common aspirations for peace and security, the goal of progress and prosperity. In conclusion, I would like to thank the French Minister for our very useful discussion and of course for his presence at the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy, a visit that will deepen and further expand relations between the two countries. ”

For his part, the French Deputy Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery, Olivier Dussopt, noted the need to establish rules on the decarbonization of the merchant fleet and the transition to green energy without losing the competitiveness of the Greek and European fleet.

Mr Dussopt added that we would need investment and that the Recovery Fund would make it possible to improve port infrastructure, which would need to be adapted to the technology used by ships.

He also noted, “we talked about the cooperation of the French customs services with the Hellenic Coast Guard. We have had great results recently in our fight against the drug trade and we have seen that exchanging information can greatly improve our efficiency. We must go even deeper to do it systematically for the benefit of both the protection of the borders and the very value of human life, as Greek ports do, saving people at sea. It’s a battle we have to fight every day. “