KEYWORDS: liner and occasional costal shipping, public services, services of general economic interest, award of public service contracts, public service obligations, reimbursement of the costs of public service obligations
SUMMARY: The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure as a partner, and relates to the drafting of a new Act on Transport in Liner and Occasional Coastal Shipping. The current Law on Transport in Liner and Occasional Coastal Maritime Transport (Official Gazette 33/06, 38/09, 87/09, 18/11, 80/13, 56/16, 121/19) regulates the system public regular maritime transport which ensures regular maritime connection of inhabited islands with the mainland and inhabited islands with each other. Dr.sc. Bulum is a member of the working group and will provide expert opinions and comments on the drafts of the new Act on Liner and Occasional Coastal Shipping regarding the issues of awarding and executing contracts for the provision of public liner transport services. Work on the text of its provisions and harmonization of the views of all stakeholders on a number of contentious issues is still ongoing. In 2017, the Public Procurement Act and the Concessions Act entered into force. Given that these are umbrella laws governing public procurement procedures and the granting of concessions for the provision of public service of general economic interest and also granting concessions for the provision of public transport on lines without public service obligation, it is necessary to harmonize the specifics of public line transport with these umbrella laws by the new Act. Also, aid schemes and individual aid granted to shipowners in the form of public service compensation need to be harmonized with the requirements of EU regulations and the domestic State Aid Act.
