The conference aims at taking the debate on secured credit in the European Union to a new stage by exploring the need and possible avenues for creating a European law of security interests. The first part of the conference examines - from an economic and a community law perspective - the case for European lawmaking on secured credit and the legislative approach to be taken. The intention in the second and third part is to look in more detail at the choices European lawmakers will have to make in devising a European law of secured credit. The main focus in part II is on secured transactions involving corporeal movables (tangibles), whereas part III looks at categories of collateral that may require special rules. Part IV contains concluding remarks.