EU Ports Strategy ‘a step forward’ but more ambition needed

“European offshore wind has started the year with new confidence thanks to successful auctions and the North Sea Summit in Hamburg, but it might soon hit a new bottleneck,” said WindEurope. “Europe’s offshore supply chain is only as strong as the ports and vessels that support it.”

The wind industry association said the EU Ports Strategy and the EU Maritime Industrial Strategy, published on 4 March 2026, both contain important measures to ensure Europe’s maritime industry and ports are ready for the upcoming offshore wind build-out, but Europe’s port capacity is already behind the demand curve.

“The last days have shown, yet again, how vulnerable Europe’s energy system is to geopolitical shocks,” said WindEurope. “Natural gas prices in Europe surged by over 40% since the escalation in the Middle East on 28 February, reaching their highest levels since 2023. Offshore wind is among Europe’s best bets to reduce its dangerous exposure to expensive and volatile fossil fuel imports,” it said, “but the offshore supply chain is only as strong as the ports and vessels that support it.”

According to WindEurope, Europe needs to invest another €2.1Bn (US$2.4Bn) in ports on top of €4.7Bn invested in recent years. The EU Ports Strategy recognises this investment need and calls on member states to better align port infrastructure upgrades with upcoming offshore wind projects. It calls for faster and simpler permitting of port expansions. To enable that, the strategy assumes port grid infrastructure to be in the overriding public interest. And it urges member states to reduce grid-connection delays and to improve port electrification.

“These are crucial steps,” said WindEurope, “but they will not be enough without more dedicated funding. Ports received nearly €90M in funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) between 2021 and 2024. The next CEF Transport budget is much larger, but investments in offshore wind-related infrastructure is still not clearly listed as a main priority. 

“The Commission said private investment must take the lead. But Europe will only crowd-in private capital with dedicated public derisking instruments.”

The EU Maritime Industrial Strategy aims to strengthen and protect Europe’s shipbuilding industry. Rather than providing financial incentives, the strategy aims to ensure a level playing field with non-European shipyards. In the strategy, the EU commits to monitoring distortive policies from third countries’ shipbuilding industries to detect unfair trade practices. It further proposes a co-ordinated pipeline of public orders to create stable demand for shipyards, along with faster permits for shipyard upgrades. WindEurope said it welcomes these measures, but stresses the urgent need for additional funding.

The strategy also aims to safeguard and protect Europe’s offshore wind vessel manufacturing. In doing so, it takes a pragmatic approach, focusing on those high-value segments with an already strong industrial potential for manufacturing in the EU. These technologically sophisticated vessels, already produced in Europe today, include offshore support vessels and cable-laying vessels. A new Industrial Maritime Value Chain Alliance will help identify business cases for the European maritime value chain.

WindEurope said it will continue to work with EU institutions, member states and industry to ensure ports and shipyards can deliver the offshore wind volumes Europe needs to deliver on its energy security and competitiveness goals.