The countdown for the upcoming edition of the yearly European Maritime Day has begun: decision-makers and practitioners from EU nations are about to become the protagonists of the major stakeholders Conference which will take place in Rome 19 & 20 May and will discuss the future of EU Integrated Maritime Policy. The maritime regions of European Union, with their 70.000 km of coastline, represent roughly 40% of both its economy and population and thus play a key role in EU economy. Besides, 22 member States on 27 are coastal or island countries: a good reason for the European Maritime Day to celebrate the importance of sea and oceans for economy of the whole continent. This explains the importance of drawing the possible lines of development of the Eu's maritime policies related not only to fisheries or transportation, but also to tourism and environmental aspects. The conference and the various related events will be a golden chance to analyze and discuss crucial aspects such as the global crisis, which is sparing no one and require promt action to save EU shipbuilding industry. The conference in Rome will probably be the right occasion to share experiences and maybe analyze what's happening in some Member States. As an example, German governement has recently taken 90% of the risk of a loan of 180 million euros in favour of two large shipyards Wadan Yards and RostockWarnemnde, in order to let them complete ten ships that had been previously commissioned. The conference will also be an occasion to cover important aspect of maritime transportation, which need to invest in research and development to reduce impact on the environment: gas emissions from international sea transport are amongst the fastest growing component of global emissions, and sooner or later the Kyoto Protocol will apply to this sector of transportation as well. Seafreight is also facing another big deal that will be probably covered in this occasion: piracy in the Gulf of Aden, which is putting at stake security in that region thus raising costs for international shipping companies.

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