Europe lacks a “strong card to play” when negotiating with countries such as China, Brazil and the US to gain access to their domestic shipping markets, says Magda Kopczynska.
The director for waterborne transport at the European Commission (EC) says Europe is being “punished” for being too open.
Cabotage, or access to trade lanes between a country’s ports, was a major topic of discussion but her experience from various bilateral talks with countries like China and to some extent Brazil, highlighted Europe’s weak position.
