Brussels, 16 April 2025
A group of MEPs from the LIBE Committee, travelled to Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to discuss how to strengthen port security. During the visits they had several meetings with local, regional and national stakeholders, visiting the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, and learning more about the public-private partnership within the EU Port Alliance. They were informed about challenges but also good practices regarding security measures, preventive actions, and staff training on the ground, including by visiting a container terminal.
After the visit, the Chair of the delegation Fabrice Leggeri (PfE, FR) said:
“The visit has given a good overview of the work that is already taking place in Antwerp and Rotterdam. We have also heard a clear request for further EU cooperation in this area in order to become more successful while at the same time provide flexibility for tailor-made approaches. The situation for the different ports is not the same due to geographical location and size and that needs to be taken into account. Sharing of data and information exchange is important: not only to counter and detect a specific criminal activity but also as a means of giving an overview of the whole situation and providing input to a strategical approach to tackle the situation at EU level. The need to find the right balance between ensuring protection of individual privacy and personal integrity on the one hand and providing the necessary tools for law enforcement and other stakeholders, including private partners, to prevent and combat drug trafficking, on the other hand, was also clear.
The visit has also shown the need for social policy and preventive action in and with local communities to reach vulnerable groups, and in schools to avoid recruitment of children and youth into criminal organisations. The importance of raising awareness and resilience in order to protect staff from being targeted by criminal gangs has also been stressed. It became clear that the fight against drug trafficking is not a cost, but an investment into security of society as a whole.
The cooperation that started some years ago between the port of Antwerp-Bruges and the Port of Rotterdam has already provided added value and the best practices and lessons learned from this cooperation can provide input for the work on EU level and in the cooperation with third countries.”
The delegation further consisted of Sandro Ruotolo (S&D, IT). During the mission to Antwerp the delegation was accompanied by Tom Vandendriessche (PfE, BE) and Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA, BE) and in the Netherlands, Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle (Renew, NL) accompanied the mission.
Background
The objective of the mission was to gain insights into port security and related phenomena with a view towards the upcoming EU Ports Strategy, which is part of the European Commission’s new European Internal Security Strategy (ProtectEU). The latter, which aims to support Member States and enhance citizens’ security, was presented to MEPs during the last plenary session of the Parliament in April.
Further information
MEPs to review the fight against counterfeiting in the port of Antwerp-Bruges
Next week, four members of the Legal Affairs Committee will travel to Antwerp to assess anti-counterfeiting efforts in the Belgian port.
On Tuesday 22 April, three members and the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee will travel to the Belgian port of Antwerp-Bruges to evaluate measures combatting activities that infringe on intellectual property.
Alongside evaluating current legal framework related to the fight against counterfeiting, MEPs will also examine monitoring and enforcement methods and technologies used by the local authorities in the fight against goods counterfeiting. MEPs will also discuss anti-counterfeiting risk-analysis and visit the port’s Border Inspection Post to see their verification process and handling of files concerning counterfeit goods.
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Before the visit, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Renew, BG) said: “The mission shows the political appreciation by MEPs of the Legal Affairs Committee of the reality of the fight against counterfeited goods. We want to understand better the risk analysis and enforcement of intellectual property rights performed by the practitioners, in order to comprehend the implementation challenges and consider measures to continue improving intellectual property rights protection in Europe.“
Mr Kyuchyuk will be joined by three MEPs for this mission:
Background
The Legal Affairs Committee pays a particular attention to the protection of the intellectual property rights and the protection of EU market against counterfeit products. MEPs also regularly discuss this topic in their meetings and recently held an exchange of views with the European Commission related to the counterfeiting of goods in the EU and piracy of sports event online.