Europe is lurching from crisis to crisis, politicians seem increasingly helpless, the war in Ukraine is omnipresent. What we need urgently now is a functioning rule of law that creates a secure framework with comprehensible and acceptable rules in order to be able to meet the current multiple challenges in the best possible way. In his contribution, Alexander Schall, an experienced corporate lawyer and trained psychoanalyst, explores the fascinating role that law plays in society’s tightrope walk between violence, aggression and joie de vivre, and to what extent the law can contribute to society’s ability to change and develop despite enormous disruptions.
We live in a time when we must ask ourselves how brave we are today. A look at the advancing climate change and the dramatic rise in energy prices shows that we still have a long way to go towards a climate-neutral society. The much-cited “ecological turnaround” probably has by far the greatest potential to become a sustainable game-changer for the whole of Europe. In his guest commentary, France’s “Monsieur Hydrogène” Michel Delpon reports on how the path to a green hydrogen society could look and what enormous future potential this emission-free energy carrier has for the economy, industry, and agriculture.
Managing Partner Ronald Frankl takes us into the fascinating virtual universe of cryptocurrencies, blockchain & co. He examines smart contracts from a legal perspective, analyses the advantages of the new DLT Pilot Regime Regulation for trading with security tokens and explains why moving out of Austria as of 1 March 2022 no longer prevents cryptocurrencies from being taxed under Austrian tax law.
Conversely, an amendment to the Foreign Nationals Employment Act has brought some important changes since 1 October 2022, which decisively facilitates access to the labour market in Austria for highly qualified professionals from third countries. Managing Partner and immigration law expert Valentin Neuser explains in his article how these legal adjustments affect the current labour market situation and the acute lack of skilled workers in shortage occupations.
We wish you, our friends and clients, an exciting and informative read.
