EFIP members meet in Aalborg (DK): Election of a new President and discussion on Inland Ports within Europe’s Green Growth and Climate Policy
Press Releases
07 May 2019
On 3 May 2019, EFIP members gathered in Aalborg (Denmark) for their annual General Assembly meeting. The meeting was hosted by the Port of Aalborg.
On this occasion, Jesper Raakjær, Director for Development at the Port of Aalborg said: “International cooperation is important to us. Not just for the sake of networking and collaboration. But also for the development of the Port of Aalborg and the business community in the hinterland. The membership of EFIP gives us all that and in addition keeps us well informed about what is happening in the EU - both in relation to challenges and support opportunities. The Port of Aalborg was proud to host this year’s GA and showing representatives from other European Inland Ports how we are operating. Seen from our side the meeting was very successful and we strengthen our ties to inland ports across Europe. A result of the meeting was an invitation to our management team to visit the Port of Sevilla in November.”
During the General Assembly meeting, the members elected unanimously Friedrich Lehr as the new President of EFIP. Mr. Lehr took over the position from Roland Hörner who was thanked for his appreciated work and service as President between 2016 and 2019. Mr. Hörner, CEO of the Staatliche Rhein-Neckar-Hafengesellschaft Mannheim mbH, will remain on the Presidency together with Carmen Costache, President of the Romanian Inland Ports Union, Hans-Peter Hadorn, Director of the Port of Switzerland, Jean-Louis Jérôme, General Manager of the Port Autonome de Strasbourg and Rainier Reekmans, Development and Infrastructure Director of the Port of Brussels.
Mr. Friedrich Lehr, new EFIP President, and Mr. Roland Hörner, former EFIP President
Friedrich Lehr is the current Managing Director of the Port of Vienna. He has been Chairman of the Austrian Public Ports and President of the Pro Danube Austria since 2013. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lehr was a Senior Vice-President at Vienna Airport. He has an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Toronto and has followed the General Management Programme at Austrian Business School.
After his appointment as the new President of EFIP, Fredrich Lehr said: “It is a great privilege to have been elected as the President of the European Federation of Inland Ports. Inland ports are at the centre of the European logistics network. European inland ports are multimodal hubs that bring together the most efficient types of transport. As such, European inland ports are going to be at the centre of the challenges that face European logistics. Prominent among these challenges is how to address and adapt to climate change. Inland ports are developing into “enablers of green logistics”. Inland ports will support the greening of logistics, growth of the circular economy while expanding their multimodal role. EFIP will be at the centre of the policy discussions around all of these topics in Europe. I am looking forward to implementing the EFIP Strategy in the coming years.”
Inland Ports within Europe’s Green Growth and Climate Policy
The theme of the interactive open session that followed the General Assembly meeting was “Inland Ports within Europe’s Green Growth and Climate Policy”. Key questions posed during the session included: ‘how do inland ports fit in Europe’s decarbonisation policy?’, ‘how should inland ports adapt to climate change?’ and opportunities for Inland Ports.
Firstly, the case of the Port of Aalborg was presented by Mr. Ole Brøndum, CSR Senior consultant at the Port. Secondly, Ms. Katinka van der Jagt from the DG CLIMA at the European Commission (EC), discussed the Introduction to EC Climate policy 2050 and Inland Ports. Finally, Ms. Jan Brooke, from PIANC, gave a presentation to the EFIP members in which she discussed Climate Adaptation and Inland Ports.
The presentations were followed by a lively Q&A session, moderated by Mr. Turi Fiorito, EFIP Director.
EFIP members in Aalborg
Background information on EFIP
The European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) brings together nearly 200 inland ports and port authorities in 18 countries of the European Union, Switzerland, Serbia and Ukraine.
EFIP actively follows all developments in the field of EU policy that is of importance and represents the inland ports vis-à-vis the European institutions and other international bodies. EFIP offers its members the possibility to exchange information, expertise and best practices with colleagues in other countries.
For further information, please contact info@inlandports.be or check our website www.inlandports.eu.
Related documents
No attachments.