Welcome Addresses
University of Vienna, 6 September 2023
On 6 September 2023, ELI President, Prof Dr Pascal Pichonnaz, the Vice-Rector of the University of Vienna, Prof Dr Ronald Maier, and the Dean of its Faculty of Law, Prof Dr Brigitta Zöchling-Jud, welcomed participants to ELI’s 2023 Annual Conference, which was hosted by the University of Vienna.
Among other things, Vice-Rector Maier emphasised the fact that the University of Vienna is pleased to be in a position to have hosted the ELI Secretariat since ELI’s foundation and said that ELI has contributed to enhancing the international profile of the University. Dean Zöchling-Jud agreed, and stressed that the involvement of many members of the University of Vienna in ELI’s activities adds to the special relationship between the two.
Following the welcome addresses, participants watched a video message in which all the previous ELI Presidents – namely Sir Francis Jacobs (2011–2013, Diana Wallis (2013–2017) and Christiane Wendehorst (2017–2021) – shared reflections of their times at ELI and observed, with enthusiasm about how far it has come. Current ELI President, Prof Dr Pascal Pichonnaz, closed the video, among other things with words on the future of the Institute.
Austrian Ministry of Justice, 6 September 2023
Austrian Minister of Justice hosted ELI’s evening reception at Palais Trautson. Minister of Justice, Dr Alma Zadić, LLM, who gave the welcome address, said that:
‘By fostering a vibrant and vigorous European legal community and cross-border cooperation …, ELI has contributed substantially, not only to work with national governments and European institutions, but also to upholding the rule of law. Therefore, Austria is proud to be the home of the ELI Secretariat and to host these important legal discussions’.
Keynotes
University of Vienna, 7 September 2023
On the second day of the Conference, Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, delivered the first keynote. In it, she focused on the rule of law and the role that organisations like ELI play in keeping this topic at the forefront of the debate:
‘I would like to recall the essential role that the work of ELI and of all legal professionals play in creating broad awareness and understanding of why the rule of law matters for our daily lives. In fact, promoting and upholding the rule of law is a key challenge of our times, which requires the commitment of all public institutions as well as society at large. Together with EU institutions and Member States, courts, legal professionals, academics as well as civil society organisations have a role to play in this context. Therefore, I would like to thank ELI for its engagement and for stimulating this debate, and I continue to count on your support.’
University of Vienna, 8 September 2023
On the last day of the Conference, Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography, also delivered a keynote focusing on the Conference on the Future of Europe, which ELI contributed to (more here), and discussed some of the initiatives the Commission put forward to implement the Conference’s conclusions.
ELI is very grateful to all the above for their insightful contributions.
