The European Consortium for Church and State Research was established in 1989 and has its headquarters at the Istitutio di Diritto Internazionale of the University of Milan. Professor David McClean. who since its inception has occupied the place reserved for the United Kingdom, set out the background to the formation of the Consortium in his paper, European perspectives on Ecclesiastical Law and Religious Education (1990) 2 Ecc LJ 23–27. Since then the Consortium has met annually and considered a broad range of subjects concerning relations between states and relirious denominations in Europe from a historical, political and, particularly, juridical point of view. Its web page may be viewed at www.uni-trier.de/eurocon/. Professor Norman Doe was elected to the Consortium two years ago. having been involved in its affairs for some years. I was invited to attend the sessions in Reggio Calabria (1998), in Strasbourg (1999) and. most recently, in Vienna last November.