On 29-30 May 2024, the  European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Ministerial Conference took place at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana, Albania, celebrating 25 years of the Bologna Process. 

The event brought together higher education leaders from across Europe to discuss and shape the future of higher education in the EHEA. The discussion focused on several key areas and topics related to the challenges of implementing the key commitments of the Bologna Process, the European perspective on internationalisation and mobility, the role of higher education in tackling digital and green objectives, the preservation of core academic values and the social dimension of higher education. 

The conference also coincided with the release of the latest Bologna Process Implementation Report, highlighting progress and challenges over the past 25 years. The report, structured into six chapters, addresses crucial aspects of EHEA, and evaluates the extent to which policy commitments have been implemented across different countries. It offers a clear overview of the steps that have been taken, as well as further measures that still need to be realised.  

Key findings from the report, as presented during the conference, include: 

• Widespread adoption of comparable degree structures across most countries. 
• Inclusion of the Lisbon Recognition Convention principles in legislation in 31 countries, with 19 countries implementing measures for automatic qualification recognition. 
• Implementation of external quality assurance by European Quality Assurance Registered agencies in 33 education systems, complying with European Standards and Guidelines.  
• Slow progress in automatic recognition and cross-border quality assurance as additional national criteria imposed by some countries undermine these efforts. 

During the conference, the Tirana Communiqué 2024 (following the Rome Communiqué 2020) was adopted. This document acts as an important step towards identifying and implementing strategic priorities for the development of European education in the next three to five years to create an inclusive, innovative EHEA, promote internationalisation and mobility and preserve core academic values and the social dimension of higher education.  

Read more here.