[The liver and Europe].

The past 30 years have been witnessing major progress in the knowledge and management of liver diseases. Approximately 29 million people in European Union suffer from chronic liver disease. However, liver diseases have been neglected by most European and national political and public health deciders. A number of measures should be implemented at the European and country levels: an efficient surveillance and data collection policy; broad information of the general population on the nature and importance of liver diseases and the means to diagnose and treat them; treatment and management policies; promotion of research on the causes, risk factors, prevention and management of liver diseases as well as on the most efficient interventions to reduce their incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality. The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) has launched in 2006 an ambitious public policy and communication action in order to get recognition of liver diseases as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe and push for appropriate measures. The future of hepatology as a specialty will depend on the success of this initiative.