MEPs reject port liberalisation

The move follows violent protests by dockers outside the European Parliament on Monday in which dozens of police and protesters were hurt.

The directive would have scrapped existing monopolies on cargo handling and allowed shipping firms to appoint private contractors to unload vessels.

The European Commission says the proposal may be reworked in future.

Unions feared the directive would have brought job losses and lower pay.

Importers and exporters, on the other hand, would have welcomed changes that could have lowered port charges.

The parliament threw out a similar directive on port liberalisation in 2003.

But the European Commission argued that introducing greater competition and transparency in EU ports would help them respond to the growth in shipping.