EU Higher Education Law

In March 2010, the European Higher Education Area was officiallylaunched, proclaiming the culmination of a ten-year timeframeprojected at Bologna in 1999, when the education ministers of 29European states signed a declaration that would fundamentallyinfluence the future of their higher education systems. Forty-sevencountries, including all EU Member States and other countries asfar afield as Kazakhstan, now take part in the so-called ''BolognaProcess''. Remarkably, this vast enterprise, which has led to rapid andsweeping changes in almost all higher education systems in Europe,has taken place outside the framework of the European Union and theCouncil of Europe. In fact, as this important legal analysis shows, itappears that with the Bologna Process the Member States have triedto sidestep the EU''s growing influence on higher education.