CONSIDERING the anger that the mere mention of Brussels elicits in certain circles, it is interesting to note that the shipping industry views it as a largely benign force when it comes to competition law.
According to the recent survey of industry trends by Norton Rose, 77% of you are of the opinion that EU competition law has had no impact on your business.
Presumably CMA CGM chief Jacques Saadé’s recent outburst over the demise of conferences did little to influence the overall results of the poll.
While Jacques and many of his contemporaries are unlikely to concede such a view in public, most box executives will privately admit that none of the industry’s current problems could have been averted if only the conferences hadn’t so unfairly been killed off by the regulators.
It goes to show that what people say and what they really think are very often two entirely separate things.
The European Commission has not won many friends by consistently threatening regional action on issues ranging from climate change to maritime safety, and few serious minded industry executives would agree that anything but a global regulatory approach for shipping is acceptable. But talk in private and you just might hear those same people admitting that the EU ultimately could be doing them a favour in forcing the global agenda forward.
International consensus is always going to be the preferred option when it comes to regulation, but sometimes what we really want is someone to wave a stick along with the carrots.
