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9 ERA F. 1 (2008-2009)

handle is hein.journals/erafrum9 and id is 1 raw text is: ERA Forum (2008) 9:1-6 DOI 10.1007/s12027-008-0050-y LITORIL Editorial Wolfgang Heusel • Jean-Philippe Rageade Published online: 2 April 2008 za C ERA 2008 asra - e a I. This issue of ERA Forum contains outstanding contributions to the Academy of Eu- ropean Law's anniversary congress in September 2007 which celebrated fifteen years of ERA. 2007 was in fact a year of several significant European jubilees, some of which were very much in the public eye, whereas others were either not noticed at all, or only very little. The harsh light of European spotlights was particularly directed at the anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, signed fifty years ago, and this event was commemorated by the forward-looking Declaration of Berlin on the uniting of the citizens of European for the better. On the other hand, anniversaries of major EU reform treaties passed unnoticed, perhaps partly because for at least the last fifteen years Europe has been in the continuous process of trying to give itself a constitution. To recall: in 1992, the year that ERA was established, the Treaty of Maastricht was signed, a step which first made possible the creation of the European Union, with its Three Pillar Structure, never really understood by its citizens, as well as economic and monetary union - a development which directly affected the citizens of Europe. The treaty on the creation of the European Economic Area - which most EU lawyers have forgotten about - is also fifteen years old. But this treaty is by no means obso- lete. Recently we were visited by a group of Norwegian labour law experts who have to apply the same law on the internal market as we do. The ten-year old Treaty of Am- sterdam, concluded in 1997, brought major progress in the communitarisation of the Schengen acquis, asylum and immigration law and the enormous field of cooperation in civil justice matters, of major relevance for everyday life. Finally five years ago, in 2002, the new common currency appeared on the scene and the anniversary of this tangible evidence of European integration was sporadically mentioned in the press. Dr. Wolfgang Heusel (E), Jean-Philippe Rageade Academy of European Law Metzer Allee 4, 54295 Trier, Germany e-mail: wheusel@era.int, jrageade@era.int Springer