In December 2009, the Stockholm Programme, a new multi-annual programme which establishes general priorities and political goals in the area of Justice and Home Affairs, will be adopted by the European Council. The new programme will follow the 1999 Tampere and the 2004 Hague Programmes.This conference will discuss the key issues for the Stockholm Programme in terms of cooperation in civil matters as presented in the Commission communication COM (2009) 262 of 10 June 2009, such as: mutual recognition ; abolition of exequatur ; speeding up cross-border debt recovery ; an optional European contract law (a 'twenty-eighth' system ) ; e-justice . The conference will provide a forum for debate between legal practitioners, experts in member states' ministries and EU legislators on these controversial issues.