E/CN.4/2004/63/Add.2 page 11 42. However, although the Romanian authorities had been considering adopting a new law since 1990, it was only in September 1999 that a bill agreed upon by the Government was submitted to Parliament. Then, in February 2000 the Government withdrew the bill because of the flood of criticisms levelled at it by religious minorities, non-governmental organizations and the international community. 43. According to some observers, the September 1999 version of the bill was unacceptable mainly because it attached disproportionate importance and gave overly dominant status to the Orthodox Church and established excessively close links between the Church and the State. The bill also laid down conditions for recognition of a religion that would have been difficult to meet, such as the requirement that it should represent at least 0.5 per cent of the population, as well as unacceptable conditions for the registration of religious associations. 44. A revised bill should be submitted for comments to the religions recognized in Romania and to some international organizations. The Special Rapporteur also learned about some alternative draft bills prepared by non-governmental organizations, such as the one prepared by the Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania - the Helsinki Committee. IV. THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 45. The Orthodox Church has a great influence on various aspects of society in Romania. It owes this influence not only to the high percentage of Romanians who describe themselves as members of it but also to the high proportion of these members who regularly practise their religion. In this connection, the church authorities drew attention to the growing number of young people who go to church. Moreover, Orthodox priests have sufficient status to be able to influence the policy of local authorities. 46. The Orthodox Church, several of whose members told the Special Rapporteur that it should be officially made “a State religion” or “a religion of the State”, sees its role as being to protect the morals of Romanian society, a task it does not believe the State can accomplish. It is therefore calling on the State to show a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect in which each partner performs its own role. Orthodox officials explained to the Special Rapporteur that there would never be a complete separation of Church and State, but they did not see this as a danger. 47. In contrast, other observers who spoke to the Special Rapporteur stressed the perverse nature of the cooperation between the State and the Church, given their common interests. These observers believe that the Orthodox Church influences government policy in areas which go well beyond purely religious matters and that the authorities in turn use their assistance to the Church for their own ends. 48. Regarding the Orthodox Church’s relations with religious minorities, the Special Rapporteur was told that the Church saw other religious movements as competitors, in the belief that Romania should be populated by Romanians and that Romanians must belong to the Orthodox Church. In this light, religious minorities are often considered to represent foreign interests. Thus, some representatives of the Orthodox Church explained that the Church had been right to oppose recognition of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Serious doubts were also expressed about