ABSTRACT
The issue of public funding for religions in Europe deals mainly with the various mechanisms put in place by domestic legal systems. However, in addition to financial relationships between the State and religions, we should take into account the European level as a regulatory framework. This chapter examines European Union tax policy on funding religious organizations. It also analyses the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in this field. Religious issues do not fall within European Union competence and in this respect Member State sovereignty continues to prevail. In this context, European Union regulation of Member States' tax policies could affect state support for religions, and we intend to show how European Union tax rules and the powers of investigation of the European Commission could interfere in, and even influence, financial relationships between States and religions.
