European Project on Short Sea Shipping                            and Intermodality ...REALISE is considered to be a flagship at European Level for Short Sea Shipping and Transport... EDITORIAL FROM COORDINATOR The findings of REALISE represent a stepping stone for a clearer understanding of the transport market service characteristics, requirements, peculiarities and functionalities for the development of intermodality during the next decade. The REALISE findings may be accepted as the basis for further EU policy and research development concerned with developing short sea shipping and achieving seamless integration between sea and land and between different transport modes. Sincerely Yours, Walter Vassallo REALISE is a three year Thematic Network, with 26 members, 6 workpackages and funded by the EC under the Competitive and Sustainable Growth Programme. The overall objective of REALISE  – taking account of what has already been achieved by EU and national activities and projects – is to develop technological strategies, methodologies, and tools for the European business community and decision-makers in order to encourage the use of short sea shipping. These efforts will focus on the carriage of unitised cargo.  The project is to assist European business actors and policy-makers to secure the key maritime transport objective of the European Commission White Paper on ‘A European Transport Policy’. This is to achieve a substantial modal shift of incremental freight from road to sea and a development of intermodality during the next decade. REALISE sets out to provide these methodologies and tools in the context of the development of short sea shipping via its integration in the complete logistics supply chain. In the context of the above mentioned objectives the work programme of REALISE is focussed on three integrative studies: Statistics, Environmental impact, Multi-modal pricing and cost structures.  Transport Pricing REALISE, in the service of this overall aim, will pre-figure the establishment of a Virtual European Research Area/Platform covering all aspects of short sea shipping. In the context of the work programme of REALISE a series of European and Regional Workshops have been organised across Europe in order to exchange and transfer the knowledge and experience developed from the network activities. The research done during the past has been exchanged at these workshops.