The maritime security, a new dimension of the martime policy of the European Union

The maritime insecurity and the criminality at sea have increased, as it happens, for instance, with the pirate attacks, the illegal immigration and the menace of terrorist acts. In the European Union, the heterogeneity of the menaces derived from these illicit acts, together with the diversity of national systems of risks management, intensifies the danger and hinders the creation of a space for the maritime security. Before this situation it is necessary a common reply to these risks. In this sense, the maritime policy of the European Union slightly introduces a small progress in this matter. This research aims to analyze the transversal nature of the main risks and the need to adopt a Communitarian reply inspired by the subsidiary principles, loyal cooperation, complementarity and articulation between the national, communitarian and intergovernmental policies, in order to improve the maritime protection.