The proposed European Nuclear Physics Laboratory moved a step closer to reality last month when it was announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) that nine countries have signed a convention providing for the laboratory's establishment. These include Belgium, France, Britain, West Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Yugoslavia. Three other countries (Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland) are reported to have approved the plan and to have announced their intentions of signing the convention in the near future. The convention will enter into force when seven states have ratified or adhered to it.