The question of churches and religious communities in the EU/EC law arose for the first time in 1997, when Declaration No. 11 on the status of churches and non-confessional organisations was attached to the Amsterdam Treaty. According to this Declaration, "The European Union will respect and does not prejudice the status under national law of churches and religious associations or communities in the Member States. The European Union will equally respect the status of philosophical and non-confessional organisations."  The content of this Declaration was commented on many times by distinguished experts of the European ecclesiastical law. Art. I-52 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (Constitutional Treaty/CT) repeats in paragraph one and two Declaration No. 11, and introduces in paragraph three a provision on dialogue between the EU and religious bodies: "Recognising their identity and their specific contribution, the Union shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with these churches and organisations." Instead of repeating opinions and statements referring to the above mentioned Declaration, which would be relevant for Art. I-52(1) and (2) CT, it should focus on two aspects:

1) How far do the ten new Member States give a new meaning to Art. 52(1) and (2) CT – are their church-state systems very different from those of the old Member States?

2) Currently, how is the dialogue mentioned in Art. I-52(3) CT carried out?

The plurality and differentiation of the church-state systems existing in the Member States of the EU is astonishing for anybody who starts dealing with this subject. Contemporarily, there are a few models of church–state relations, ranging...