The Bologna Declaration

On June 19, 1999, 29 European Ministers in charge of higher education signed in Bologna the Declaration on establishing the European Area of Higher Education by 2010 and promoting the European System of higher education worldwide. The ministers affirmed in the Bologna Declaration their intention to:

• adopt a system of easily readable and comparable degrees
• adopt a system with two main cycles (undergraduate/graduate)
• establish a system of credits
• promote mobility by overcoming obstacles
• promote European cooperation in quality assurance
• promote European dimensions in higher education

Since 1999, 46 European countries have voluntarily joined the Bologna Process, agreeing to make their various national higher education systems more compatible with each other. The intent of the process is to create a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by 2010. It is hoped that this EHEA will increase the competitiveness of European educational systems and their graduates.