THREAT TO HUMBER DOCKS AVOIDED

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 18th Jan 2006

Local Hull Euro MP Diana Wallis has voted today to reject controversial new EU law that it is claimed could prove hugely damaging to the Humber ports.

The proposed Access to Port Services Directive aims to open up competition in a bid to force down prices across Europe.

It would require operators to bid against each other for the right to provide services at ports. Ship owners would be allowed to bring in their own staff to replace dockworkers in loading and unloading vessels.

In a letter to Diana Wallis, Matthew Kennerley, Port Director for ABP at Hull and Goole, claims that the measure has been designed with continental ports in mind and is wholly inappropriate to the UK situation which already has an efficient, privately finaced ports sector with active competition between and within ports. He went on to say that it would be difficult, if the legislation was passed, to justify port investments.

Dockworkers picketing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Monday threw stones at the building and injured several police officers, one seriously.

But local Euro MPs, Diana Wallis, said that the violence was completely misplaced because MEPs shared the dockers' concerns.

She said: "There are EU rules already in place to curb monopolies and these new proposals are neither necessary nor appropriate."

"Bringing people in from outside to unload ships creates health and safety dangers of a kind that simply cannot be accepted."

The Liberal Democrat MEP said that it was time for more people to recognise that the European Parliament was not a toothless tiger.

"It's not often recognised that MEPs reject legislation quite frequently, which is more than can be said for MPs at Westminster,' she said..

"The European Parliament rejected a draft law of this kind two years ago. The Commission made changes and brought back new proposals but now we are set to throw them out too."