Greek shippers intend to discuss the extension of their voluntary economic contribution to the state into 2018 in the context of an extraordinary general meeting of the Union of Greek Shipowners (EEE) scheduled for June 26.
Sources told Kathimerini that the extension of this optional levy is all but certain, as Shipping Minister Panayiotis Kouroublis noted this week. He said, “We have had talks with the shipowners and they showed they understand the situation.”
This extension constitutes one of the prior actions required by the country’s creditors, given that it fetches some 100 million euros per year into the state coffers.
Another issue on the EEE meeting’s agenda this month will be updating its members about developments on the informal probe into Greece’s institutional framework on shipping by the European Commission.
Kouroublis said on Wednesday a letter has been sent to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager offering some explanations on the issue and highlighting that all countries, Germany included, apply policies which support their national shipping industry.
Beginning of the month, Greek shipowners issued a sharp statement commenting on statements of German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble who urged prime minister Alexis Tsipras to tax Greek shipowners. The statement exposed the real motive behind Schaeuble’s criticism: the difficult times of the German shipping sector and hard competition.
