Vernieuwde afspraak over goed functionerend hoger onderwijs in Europa (en)
Education Ministers from the 47 countries participating in the Bologna Process met in Bucharest at the end of last week to review progress in Higher Education reforms and set priorities for the next three years.
In their Communiqué, Ministers emphasised the importance of higher education to Europe's capacity to deal with the economic crisis and to contribute to growth and jobs. In doing so, the Communiqué echoes the EU i Agenda for the Modernisation of Higher Education presented by the Commission in 2011 and creates stronger links between Bologna and EU policies.
At the request of the Commission, Ministers also committed themselves to delivering the automatic recognition of comparable diplomas as a long-term goal of the EHEA. Citizens continue to face considerable difficulty in having their qualifications recognised for the purpose of further study in other countries and it represents the single largest area of complaints received by the Commission in the education field. Long delays and difficult procedures hamper students' mobility and limit their educational opportunities.
Speaking after the conference, Androulla Vassiliou i, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Youth and Sport said: "The agreement to focus on employability, jobs and the contribution of higher education to innovation and economic regeneration is a real step forward for the Bologna Process and will help us align the efforts of 47 EU and Eastern Partnership countries on our priorities for growth. And the commitment to achieve the automatic recognition of diplomas represents a real breakthrough in terms of the ambition of the Bologna Process. I am delighted that a pathfinder group of countries has agreed to work together to make some concrete progress and the Commission will support their efforts in every way possible."