EU Maritime Policy
Considering its geography, its history and globalisation the European Union is still very dependent on the maritime transport. Nearly 90% of its external trade and more than 40% of its internal trade goes by sea; on the whole nearly 2 billion tons of freight are loaded and unloaded EU ports each year; maritime companies belonging to European Union nationals control nearly 40% of the world fleet; the majority of EU trade is carried on vessels controlled by EU interests; and finally the maritime transport sector - also including shipbuilding, ports, fishing and related industries and services - employs some 3 million people in the European Union.
The link address is: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/index_en.htm