Five Dutch seaport authorities have called on European policymakers to turn the European Ports Strategy into concrete, practical and adequately funded measures, warning that investments in sustainable energy, infrastructure and resilience will stall without predictable regulation and financing.

The port authorities of Amsterdam, Groningen Seaports, Moerdijk, Rotterdam and North Sea Port — cooperating under the Dutch Seaports Association (BOZ) — presented their joint position paper, Full Steam Ahead, at a meeting in Brussels on 29 September.

The ports held talks with Members of the European Parliament Sérgio Gonçalves, Willemien Koning and Sara Matthieu. Gonçalves serves as the European Parliament's rapporteur on the Ports Strategy file. Isabelle Ryckbost, Secretary General of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), moderated the discussion.

What do the ports want from the strategy?

The European Commission presented the European Ports Strategy in March 2026. The strategy explicitly recognises ports as strategic hubs for trade, industry, energy and security, and focuses on port competitiveness, the energy transition, security and access to financing.

The Dutch ports welcome that recognition as an important step forward. Their next concern is implementation. In Full Steam Ahead, the five authorities outline three priorities:

• Investment certainty — long-term policy, regulation and financing predictable enough to support major capital commitments.
• Clear agreements on strategic port infrastructure — defined responsibilities for development, protection and funding.
• Stronger cross-border cooperation — regulation and investment organised beyond member-state boundaries.

Why does investment certainty matter?

Making European ports more sustainable and resilient requires substantial investment, the position paper stresses. The spending covers energy infrastructure, quays, rail and inland waterway connections, and facilities for new energy carriers.

Companies can only make such long-term investments if policy, regulation and financing are sufficiently predictable, the ports argue. They therefore call on Europe to maintain the possibility of long-term agreements and to provide appropriate funding mechanisms.

The ports also caution that new regulations should strengthen port security and resilience without unnecessarily delaying investments they consider urgently needed.

How should dual-use infrastructure be handled?

Port infrastructure can serve both civilian and military purposes. Quays, rail connections, waterways, energy facilities and storage locations support the day-to-day economy, but the same assets may also be needed for military mobility and Europe's broader resilience.

The five ports support the EU's recognition of this dual-use infrastructure. But they want the Union to clearly define responsibilities for its development, protection and financing — and they stress that implementation should run in close cooperation with port authorities, governments and businesses operating in the ports.

Can regulation work across borders?

Trade flows, energy networks and industrial value chains do not stop at national borders, the position paper notes. Dutch seaports connect to other Dutch and European regions through inland shipping, rail, road and pipeline networks.

The seaports therefore urge Europe not to organise regulations and investments solely on a member-state basis. Greater cooperation between ports and industrial clusters, they argue, can better align energy infrastructure, hinterland connections, military mobility and economic security objectives.

What happens next?

The European Parliament will continue to develop its position on the European Ports Strategy in the coming period. The five seaports intend to remain closely engaged with European policymakers, other ports and the business community throughout that process.

Their message is direct: Europe has recognised the strategic value of its ports; the next step is concrete decisions on regulation, financing and responsibilities, so ports can contribute fully to a competitive, sustainable and resilient Europe.

Ryckbost closed the Brussels meeting with a summary the ports clearly intend to carry into the next phase of the debate: "Investing in ports is investing in Europe."

With the Parliament's rapporteur engaged and the position paper now on the table, the trajectory for the coming months points toward negotiation over funding mechanisms, dual-use responsibilities and cross-border governance — the three areas where the Dutch ports say ambition currently outruns implementation.