Willkommen bei ERA – Europäische Rechtsakademie

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The value to society of charitable giving and philanthropy is especially great in a time of economic uncertainty. Many EU Member States promote such giving, for example by providing fiscal incentives, but in most cases such benefits have until now stopped at national borders. The aim of this conference is to highlight ways in which the existing hurdles to cross-border philanthropy in Europe can be overcome, notably through the creation of a European Foundation Statute.

High-level policymakers from the European institutions, stakeholders from the foundation and charitable sectors, as well as legal and fiscal experts will:

• Identify and analyse the existing hurdles to cross-border charitable giving in the European Union;

• Discuss the appropriate legal form and governance requirements of a European Foundation Statute – as recommended in the European Commission's feasibility study published on 16 February 2009 – and its relevance from a practitioner's perspective;

• Explore alternative options to improving the fiscal environment for European foundations, notably in the light of recent ECJ case law (Persche, Stauffer), as well as foundations' own initiatives such as the Transnational Giving Europe network.

The conference will provide practitioners the opportunity to present their experiences based on the existing situation in their home countries in specific areas:

• Arts, culture and education;

• Research and health;

• Social issues and development assistance;

and to explore ways in which the proposed solutions could concretely promote cross-border giving and the transnational activities of foundations in Europe.

The conference will be generously supported by the Transnational Giving Europe network and a reception on the evening of 8 December 2009 will be generously sponsored by DBB Law.