social partners for the maritime technology sector have once again called upon EU policy-makers to adopt a dedicated European industrial strategy for the sector.
Reflecting on the year since the launch of their joint manifesto ‘Maritime Technology: A Strategic Sector for Europe’, the social partners have again united in their calls for European policy-makers to fulfill the demands set out in the document. The joint manifesto demands the maritime technology sector to be recognized as a strategic sector for Europe and calls for a dedicated European sectoral strategy.
‘’The maritime technology sector provides more than 1 million jobs in Europe. These are high-quality jobs and are crucial for many communities and regions across Europe. We cannot lose these jobs due to unfair trading practices in other countries,” Luis Colunga, Deputy General Secretary for industriAll Europe, said.
There are around 300 shipyards and 22,000 maritime equipment companies in Europe, employing more than 900,000 skilled people. Based on orderbook value, the European shipbuilding industry ranks second in the world after the USA — mainly naval shipbuilding — and is bigger than its direct Asian competitors. What is more, European manufacturers and suppliers produce almost 50% of the global production of maritime and marine equipment.