The last Publishers Forum took place in 2005 and this event was so successful that we decided to repeat this meeting every two years. It’s thus a genuine and great pleasure to meet you again at this special event that you co-organise with the support of my Media Task Force. This Forum has become a must because it is crucial to share views with the professionals, on the extraordinary changes that publishing is undergoing. This year’s programme addresses cutting-edge issues and I am convinced that the debates within the various panels will be of great interest for all of us. This year’s Forum is dedicated to development of digital publishing and the impact of the digital technologies on your creative industries in the publishing sector. This is exactly the thrust of my action within the Commission.