A comprehensive programme of annual conferences
ERA offered an extensive range of annual conferences in 2025, designed to equip legal practitioners with the latest information on recent legislation and case law. These conferences also introduced policy debates set to influence the future landscape of the legal field.
In 2025, this successful formula encompassed a broad range of topics, including AML and financial compliance, artificial intelligence and fundamental rights, border management, consumer law, company law and corporate governance, competition law, copyright law, criminal law, data protection law, disability law, environmental law, family law, financial market regulation and supervision, food law, immigration law, labour law, media law, patent law, public procurement, State aid law, social security law, succession law, sustainable finance, VAT law, and white collar crimes. These highly-specialised events are designed for practitioners seeking to remain current in their fields and consistently attract a significant number of legal professionals from across Europe.
Employment and Social Law
The Annual Conference on Labour Law reached out to 66 participants (33 face-to-face and 33 online). The programme addressed practical issues such as the challenges of complying with the Pay Transparency Directive or the key expectations regarding the implementation of the Platform Work Directive, with contributions from representatives of Uber and the European Trade Union Confederation, offering perspectives from both the platform economy and the trade union movement. It also provided an overview of recent CJEU judgments in the area of labour law, presented by high-level speakers, including CJEU Judge François Biltgen.
The Annual Conference on Social Security Law was attended by 76 participants from 16 different countries. The programme concentrated on the latest legal developments in social security coordination, covering topics such as digitalisation, cross-border telework, and multi-state activities. Participants also examined recent jurisprudence from the Court of Justice of the European Union, offering insights into contemporary legal trends and their practical implications for social security coordination.
Leyre Maiso Fontecha
Deputy Head of Section – European Private Law Section
“Through ERA’s labour and social security law conferences and training programmes, we aim to promote meaningful dialogue among legal professionals across Europe, addressing evolving challenges such as platform work, pay transparency, the posting of workers, labour mobility and digitalisation. It is especially rewarding to see how these exchanges contribute to a better understanding and application of EU law.”
The Annual Conference on European Public Procurement Law was attended by 73 participants. The programme addressed the European Commission’s latest initiatives, the findings of the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report 28/2023, and the implications of foreign subsidies and new sustainability legislation for procurement practices. Further sessions explored digital innovation, including the role of procurement data and the use of artificial intelligence. The second day reviewed recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and concluded with discussions on the international dimension and future developments in public procurement.
The most well-attended annual event in 2025 was the Annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Rights. This event saw participation from 95 attendees online and featured several distinguished speakers, including Markus Anderljung, Maria Giuliana Civinini, Irina Orssich, Albina Ovcearenco, Dory Reiling, and Eva Thélisson. The conference focused on the new legislative instruments introduced in 2024, specifically the European Union Act on Artificial Intelligence and the Council of Europe framework convention on AI. Key topics of discussion included the role and impact of fundamental rights in AI governance and the application of AI within justice systems.
For all of these events, ERA regularly welcomes judges from the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as high-ranking EU officials, as speakers. All in all, 1,340 participated in the 27 annual conferences offered in 2025. Most of the annual conferences were implemented in a hybrid format, while six were available only to an online audience, facilitating greater accessibility and participation from those unable to attend in person.
Events on very specific topics
In addition to its annual conferences, ERA offers ad hoc events on various specific topics. For example, in October 2025, we implemented a seminar in cooperation with the Budapest Bar entitled ‘Basics of artificial intelligence for criminal legal professionals: how AI is reshaping the criminal justice systems’. Social networks have become crucial tools for communication and information exchange. However, they also present unique challenges for investigators who seek to uncover and analyse data that may be relevant to criminal investigations. This webinar was designed to equip legal practitioners with the necessary skills and knowledge to conduct effective investigations in the world of social media. It scrutinised the fundamental principles of social network investigation, including the collection, analysis, and presentation of data from social media platforms. Participants were introduced to the various tools and techniques used in social network investigation, including open-source intelligence (OSINT) tool gathering, data mining, social network analysis and digital forensics. Two non-European delegations were physically present at this event in Budapest: a group of nine legal practitioners (judges, prosecutors and lawyers) from the Philippines and a group of nine legal practitioners, mainly judges, from Saudi Arabia.
Advanced competition law training series
In 2025, ERA organised three seminars as part of its advanced competition law training series: one in Athens, in cooperation with the Hellenic Competition Authority; one in Budapest, in cooperation with the Hungarian Competition Authority; and one in Valletta, in cooperation with the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Agency. The primary aim of these decentralised seminars was to bring ERA’s competition law programme closer to national competition experts and to foster closer cooperation with national partner institutions, particularly national competition authorities, which constitute one of the main target groups for ERA’s competition law events. Each seminar focused on a specific antitrust law topic – the economics of EU competition law, dawn raids, and cartel enforcement – delivered through a mix of frontal presentations and practical sessions. The seminars attracted a total of 88 participants from national competition authorities, private practice, and companies, who benefitted from advanced competition law training provided by esteemed speakers from the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Commission, leading law firms, and academia.
Virginia Pavel
Course Director – European Business Law
“As one of the organisers of this seminar on behalf of ERA, I was particularly pleased to see how the close cooperation between our team, speakers, and partners translated into a dynamic and engaging learning experience for the participants.”
In November 2025, ERA organised an event focusing on transparency and access to information within the European Union. The aim of this event was to equip participants with knowledge regarding the principles of transparency and access to information in the EU. Additionally, the seminar provided an overview of recent case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union. Current and future challenges were also discussed. With 56 participants primarily from EU institutions and agencies, as well as from national ministries and institutions, the discussions were both lively and engaging. The topics that garnered the most attention included the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament, the Interinstitutional Agreement between EU Institutions on a Mandatory Transparency Register, Trilogues, and the Implications of Technological Design for Access to Documents in the EU. These subjects raised numerous questions from both panel members and participants.
EU staff regulations
Karolina Rokicka
Head of Section – European Public Law Section
In February 2025, ERA organised a webinar on Freedom of Expression Toolkit: Safeguarding the Right to Freedom of Expression and Information in Europe. The webinar aimed to equip participants with a nuanced understanding of the legal landscape surrounding freedom of expression, balancing theoretical knowledge with practical insights into its application and challenges in contemporary society. It offered an in-depth analysis of current jurisprudence concerning the right to access information, freedom of expression, and protection against retaliation. The participant group of 23 participants was diverse, including ministry officials as the largest group, but also lawyers, charity employees, judges and EU officials.
In November 2025, ERA organised a webinar on AI Contracting: EU Law and Global Perspectives. The topic of AI Contracting was on the ERA agenda for the first time. It proved to be the right decision to embark on this endeavour. By bringing together stakeholders and leading scholars, the event aimed to promote a greater understanding of how legal frameworks must evolve to ensure fairness, accountability, and legal certainty in AI-driven contracts. The format included short presentations of up to 20 minutes followed by 20 minutes of discussion, concluding with a one-hour panel session that encouraged a lively and engaging debate.
The Association of EU Data Protection Judges (AEDPJ) was founded in 2021 with the support of ERA. In 2025, ERA continued its salient work in the field of data protection law. To fulfil its supporting mission, ERA organised a conference and two webinars in 2025: the conference tackled the ‘pay or consent‘ model that is used by newspapers or companies like Meta, whereas the two webinars, on AI in the courts and its implications for the accumulation and handling of (personal) data and the right to be forgotten in all its aspects, attracted around 25 participants each. The annual conference in January attracted 50 participants.
Closer cooperation with the Western Balkan countries
Two seminars were organised in partnership with the Albanian School of Magistrates in Tirana, focusing on the fight against corruption and consumer law. The event was attended by 33 and 41 Albanian judges and trainee judges.
A platform for the discussion of legal policy
In line with its statute, ERA does not confine itself to the dissemination of European law via training but also serves as a European platform for the discussion of legal policy. In doing so, ERA attaches great importance to remaining neutral and independent, for example, by not becoming directly involved in the drafting of specific legal policies. ERA’s neutrality and independence have given it a role in a number of topical and fundamental debates at European level. The aim of such events is to stimulate reflection on future political developments in a field of law or, where future legislation is already at an advanced stage, to put forward practical considerations from legal practitioners and stakeholders for the evaluation of the proposed legislation.
In 2022 ERA created the European Forum for the Legal Professions, which aims to launch a structured dialogue among the representatives of the professions where common challenges and concerns could be addressed and analysed at EU level. The Forum became a collaborative and evolving project among these professions, where ERA plays the role of a facilitator. In 2025 ERA organised the fourth conference of the Forum entitled ‘The Need for Constant Vigilance – The Role of the Legal Professions in Maintaining European Values’ with Ana Gallego Torres Director-General for Justice and Consumers at the European Commission as keynote speaker. The hybrid event organised in Brussels attracted over 500 legal practitioners.