The European Commission has just published a paper outlining its contribution to the Bologna Process. The document, entitled “From Bergen to London. The EU Contribution”, was released on 24 January 2006. Although, in principle, the intergovernmental Bologna Process is driven by the member states, the European Commission participates as a full member in the Bologna Follow-up Group and - very actively - promotes the process through European-level initiatives.

The Commission regards its contribution to Bologna as part of the Lisbon Strategy, aiming to build a European Higher Education Area by 2010, as least as far as quality assurance and curricular reform are concerned. Overall, the paper explains the European Commission’s position towards and contribution to all items quoted in the Bergen Communiqué, in particular to the priorities agreed upon in Bergen: quality assurance, the degree system and the recognition of degrees and study periods. Regarding the Bologna priorities, the document emphasizes the need to concentrate on “a genuine implementation of reforms” and to “work out an external dimension strategy” of the Bologna Process.

The paper also announces a wide range of Commission initiatives in 2006 and 2007 for which it will be worth watching out, just to mention a few:

• a new communication to the European Council in March 2006,
• the publication of a Commission Report, the 2007 Report on Higher Education Reforms, in early 2007;
• a possible proposal for a Council and Parliament Recommendation on a European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning in September 2006;
• a call for proposals to support networking and national qualifications frameworks and the development of sectoral European-level frameworks, to be published in April 2006;

The paper should soon be available on the Europa Website, as well as on the Website of Bologna Follow-up group.