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The EU is proposing to extend the regulation granting the exemption (the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation) by another four years without modification from when it expires in April 2020.
EU rules normally prevent companies from working together in a way that might restrict competition, but companies shipping cargo by sea have been granted an exemption from this ban as they often need to work together to make their operations more financially viable and efficient.
The regulation provides a “safe harbor” under European competition law for vessel sharing arrangements that have a market share up to 30%.
According to the commission, the proposed initiative is scheduled to be finalized before the expiry date. The proposal is open for feedback for 4 weeks. Feedback will be taken into account for further development and fine tuning of the initiative. The commission will summarize the input received in a synopsis report explaining how the input will be taken on board and, if applicable, why certain suggestions can't be taken up.
