The subjects addressed by the conferences that the European Law Academy (Era) organised for the first six months of 2006 are key challenges to European law. Era, a EU-funded trust based in Trier (Germany), promotes the good practice of European law, training on the subject, and encourages the exchange of experiences. Three meetings promoted in conjunction with the Austrian chairmanship of the EU will address parental responsibility in divorce procedures and alimony requirements (Innsbruck, 15-17 May); legal protection of patents for biotechnological inventions (Vienna, 29-30 May); restoration justice from the point of view of victims and offenders (Vienna, 26-28 June). Era’s program also includes a number of workshops organised in conjunction with the Bar Council and the EU legal bodies, and co-funded by the European Commission, about civil and commercial law. “The reality of a Europe without frontiers add the organisers – will be put to the test by a workshop on social and tax regimes for cross-border commuters (Trier, 16-17 March)”. Other meetings will investigate the latest proposals put forward by the European Commission about, for instance, chemicals, competition, media regulations. Info: www.era.int” “
