Source: cyprus-mail.com
Italy is joining the long-standing maritime cooperation between Cyprus, Greece and Malta for the first time on Wednesday, as the four Mediterranean shipping states meet in Limassol to coordinate positions on the competitiveness and decarbonisation of European shipping.
The 3+1 ministerial meeting begins at 9.30am at the Parklane Hotel, bringing together Cyprus Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis, Greek Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Minister Vassilis Kikilias, Malta’s Chris Bonett and Italy’s Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Edoardo Rixi.
The talks are expected to run until 12.30pm, with statements to the press scheduled around noon, according to the Shipping Deputy Ministry.
Beyond Wednesday’s agenda, however, the meeting marks the formal expansion of a cooperation framework which until now brought together Cyprus, Greece and Malta, three EU member states with particularly strong interests in maritime transport.
Italy is participating in the format for the first time, following closer coordination between the four countries earlier this year. Hadjimanolis had already met Kikilias, Bonett and Rixi in Rome in June on the sidelines of an international shipping summit, where the four discussed common maritime priorities.
That meeting took place during the International Chamber of Shipping’s Shaping the Future of Shipping summit, where decarbonisation, maritime security and resilient supply chains featured prominently in discussions involving governments and the international shipping industry.
Hadjimanolis subsequently described Italy’s inclusion as the result of efforts to broaden Cyprus’ maritime alliances, saying the challenges confronting shipping increasingly require closer coordination and common approaches.
Wednesday’s gathering is also the ninth meeting of the cooperation framework and its first in Cyprus since 2018. The previous meeting between Cyprus, Greece and Malta was held in Greece in 2023.
At the centre of the Limassol discussions will be the increasingly difficult balance between cutting shipping emissions and ensuring European operators and ports remain competitive internationally.
That debate has taken on added significance following the European Commission’s adoption in March of its Industrial Maritime Strategy, designed to strengthen the competitiveness, innovation and technological position of Europe’s shipping and maritime manufacturing industries.
The strategy places competitiveness and the clean transition alongside investment, manufacturing capacity and the need for a more level international playing field.
European shipping represents more than one third of global shipping tonnage, according to the Commission, while the sector is simultaneously facing stronger international competition and the cost of moving towards cleaner vessels, technologies and fuels.
The timing of Wednesday’s meeting is also significant at international level.
Only days earlier, the latest IMO climate talks concluded in London, with discussions on concerns surrounding the organisation’s proposed Net-Zero Framework pushed forward to the next round of negotiations.
The IMO’s working group met from September 1 to 4 and agreed that further work would continue at ISWG-GHG 23 from November 23 to 27, immediately ahead of the Marine Environment Protection Committee’s next session from November 30 to December 3.
The framework is intended to establish global measures for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from large oceangoing ships, while several elements remain subject to negotiations between governments.
For Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Italy, Wednesday’s talks therefore come as decisions taken both in Brussels and at the IMO are set to shape the cost, regulation and competitiveness of European shipping for years to come.