There are numerous reasons to feel enthusiastic after reading the volume edited by G. della Cananea, A. Ferrari Zumbini, and O. Pfersmann. One of the most interesting findings in this collaborative study is certainly the scaling down of the widespread belief that public law is inextricably linked to the social, political, and historical context of individual countries. This is a result that fits perfectly within the framework of an even broader comparative research project funded by the European Research Council, which focuses on the ‘common core’ of European administrative law.