The General Assembly was held on the 1st of October 2009, the first day of the Congress. Eighty four members were present. The two most important issues on that day  were the election of the new Committee and the election of the new General Secretary. There was a long period of preparation to this election. This work was completed by Dr. Zsuzsa Schaff, who took on the position of the President of the Searching Committee. The list of the new Committee members is published here.

The Austrian and the Hungarian Societies of Pathologists have closed a conference which was held in Sopron for the first time with great success. Classic pathology and slide seminars with virtopsy and molecular oncological sessions were the main areas touched. On the first morning meetings were separated, and held in Hungarian and German, from the afternoon, the sections and discussions were in English. Awards and prices were given and social events made the meeting more memorable. Next year the Austrian, Croatian Hungarian and Slovenian society meets up in Graz, Austria.

The time for digital pathology is just around the corner. The Aperio users conference is now converted into a digital pathology meeting. European and American regions both have the technique available, while there are still unanswered questions about financial models, billing and security. Main trials have evaluated the accuracy of digitally scanned slides, and the results are confirming the diagnosis made with classic microscopy. The cases not suitable for telepathology can easily be identified, but legal issues and reporting have yet to be considered.

In the shadows of medieval architecture thousands of pathologists gathered to attend the European conference this year. With pre-conference meetings the congress lasted altogether for 6 days. The main areas of pathology were dicussed in a parallel fashion at the Fortezza of Florence. Dozens of vendors of tissue based diagnostics and research represented, with specially stong digital pathology delegates. The gold sponsor of the conference was 3DHistech Ltd. from Hungary.