THE do-not-disturb sign has been lifted from Brussel’s door as Eurocrats leave the poolside and head back from their sustained summer break.

The headlines, perhaps unsurprisingly, have focused on the increasingly frosty war of words with Russia, but for the transport ministers in La Rochelle this week, it is maritime safety, pollution and, of course, the ever present agenda item motorways of the sea.

This was a project first heralded at the turn of the last decade as the solution to Europe’s road congestion problems, but despite endless discussions, papers and wise words on the subject, no substantive action has ever materialised.

“There is a lot of talk but little progress,” French minister Dominique Bussereau said pointing out the glaringly obvious ahead of the meeting.

The motorways of the sea are supposed to take freight off the roads, which seems such a simple idea when you consider that Europe’s roads are full, while its waterways and sea routes are not.

There are suggestions that state aid, opposed by existing maritime operators as distorting, should be redirected from operating subsidies towards ship construction, the minister said. But considering his previous admission, it seems unlikely that is ever going to amount to much more than hot air and shredded paper.

What the industry needs now is a clear and practical policy, not interminable debate.

On land, high oil prices have hit truckers where it hurts the most. In the air, sky-high fuel costs have prompted airlines to raise ticket prices and cut routes. So what about at sea? This is precisely the time that Europe needs to work out what it wants from its short sea operators, before it is too late.