EU enlargement in the Baltic Sea Region. Consequences for the Swedish ship owners

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide an introduction into the current situation in the shipping industry within the EU (European Union) and how the future member states - in this case Poland and the Baltic countries - will and can affect the sea transport and the goods flows within the region, when entering the EU on the 1st of May 2004. Further on, the purpose is to introduce the shipping industry and its activities in the candidate countries, and also to identify what forces affect the competitive situation in the Baltic Sea region, from a Swedish perspective. This will result in an analysis of possible future impacts on the competitive situation for the Swedish Ship owners’ Association, which is the assigner of this commission, and its members.

The goods flows, the regulations and the economy have been identified and described as the three most significant factors for the competitive situation, according to the authors, since they cover the seaborne transportation and the future development of the market in the region. There are two major goods flows that will function as a transit area for the massive Russian goods flow, and there is great need for improved standards when it comes to the infrastructure that surrounds the ports. This is the case in Poland as well.

One can assume that the consequences will probably be bigger for the ship owners in the Baltic countries and Poland, than they will be for the Swedish ship owners. This is because Sweden has already adjusted most of its regulations according to EU standards, and the Swedish ship owners have already worked under the competitive conditions that the candidate countries now have to adjust to. The Swedish ship owners are generally well prepared for most kinds of competition, as long as it takes place under the same conditions. Those who are well prepared will probably get numerous advantages out of the expansion, but those who are not will fall back, and they will have to work hard to retrieve their position. One could say that, in general, it depends on how the Swedish ship owners adapt to the changes that the expansion will bring.