ECSA European Shipowners has received with open arms the adoption of the Szczecin Declaration on the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy, hailing it as a “strong and clear” signal that protectionism has no right to a seat at the maritime table.

At a time of increasing protectionism across the globe, ECSA believes that the declaration underscores the one crucial fact: Europe is in need of more investments to bridge the innovation gap and to make the maritime industrial cluster—the backbone of the continent’s security, economy and resilience— more competitive .