Brussels, 02/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - European Maritime Transport Week is being held on Monday 2 March to Thursday 6 March in Brussels. This event is being organised by the European Community's Ship Owners Association (ECSA) and aims to promote an exchange between European shipowners and decision-makers. Several conferences and discussions have been organised during the week (the full programme is available at: http://www.europeanshippingweek.com ). Patrick Verhoeven, ECSA secretary general stated: “Europe and maritime transport have been developing a close relationship for thousands of years. I hope that this event will become a reference point for European decision-makers and business leaders”. According to the ECSA, at the beginning of 2014 the EU owned 23,000 transport vessels, 40% of world tonnage. In 2012, maritime transport contributed €145 billion to European GDP and provided 2.3 million European jobs. (Jean Comte)