 This has greatly helped to establish many collaborations which lasted up to the present time, when, partly thanks to the European Union, many more such collaborations have become possible.The ties created by MECO, however, still are useful to help scientific exchange, even though the scientific emphasis has changed from the traditional fields of statistical mechanics and solid state physics to interdisciplinary themes of current interest as well.MECO usually gathers from 100 to 150 scientists almost every year.