Governance models and port concessions in Europe: Commonalities, critical issues and policy perspectives

The paperanalysesEuropeanportregulation,focusingprimarilyontheeffectivenessofconcession agreements intheportsector.CurrentheterogeneityinEUportregulationiswidelyrecognisedashaving an impactonthecompetitivenessofports.Moreover,PortAuthoritieshavetotakeintoaccountawide rangeofgoalsinordertomanagetheinteractionswithprivateoperatorsresponsibleforportactivities. Thus, sometrade-offsemerge,asinsomecasesarevenuestreamorastrategicobjectiveforthePort Authoritymayimplyacostfortheconcessionaire.Thispaperdiscusseshowconcessionagreementscan contribute toregulatingthesetrade-offs.