Europe, the continent of lakes and rivers, is surrounded by seas. Archipelago’s living conditions are unequal compared to the continent with good connections. In Finland, island policy has long history and is based on economically, environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable regional development. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has given an assignment to MDI to study European island policies. The study gives a review of islands and waterways in selected European countries and regional policies for these areas. The collected data is compared to corresponding information from Finland. At the end of the survey development recommendations will be provided for the next EU programme period. The report utilizes existing statistics and research material and collects new material through electronic questionnaires and interviews. The survey will be completed in April 2018.