Bologna ministers recommend Nuffic-coordinated manual

On 26 and 27 April the ministers of education of 47 countries gathered in Bucharest, Romania to take stock of the Bologna Process and set out the key policy issues and goals for the next three years. These have been published in the Communiqué, one of the main political documents of the EHEA.

What is the EAR manual?

The Lisbon Recognition Convention (1997) is the foundation of recognition in the European region, but it leaves room for interpretation. This has led to a range of different recognition practices and unfair recognition and mobility obstacles for students. The EAR manual provides a practical translation of the Lisbon Recognition Convention to improve recognition practices in the European region.

Recommendation

The ministers' recommendation reads as follows:

'At the national level, together with the relevant stakeholders, and especially with higher education institutions, we will review national legislation to fully comply with the Lisbon Recognition Convention and promote the use of the EAR manual to advance recognition practices'.

'We welcome the European Area of Recognition (EAR) manual and recommend its use as a set of guidelines for recognition of foreign qualifications and a compendium of good practices’.

In doing so, the Communiqué follows the recommendations from the EHEA Working Group on Recognition, a special working group that prepared the recommendations for recognition. Nuffic, the Dutch ENIC/NARIC, is an active member of this working group.

Importance for EAR and recognition

The recommendation of the EAR manual is a major boost for the promotion of the manual within the ENIC-NARIC networks. 

Finally, in their Communiqué the EHEA ministers also recommend to include the recognition process into the internal and external quality assurance systems of higher education institutions.

More information

Read more about EAR on the website of the European Area of Recognition

Download the Bucharest Communiqué (355 kB)