Student representatives from across Europe are currently meeting in Vienna  to discuss the impact of the Bologna Process on higher education in Europe. On March 9, they adopted a declaration to the Bologna Ministerial Anniversary Conference in Budapest/Vienna, where European education ministers will meet tomorrow and Friday this week to celebrate 10 years of the process.

Chairperson Ligia Deca said: “In some national contexts, tuition fees have been implemented or student participation has been reduced, under the pretext of the Bologna Process. Consequently there is great confusion over what is actually ‘Bologna’. Due to this, there is no doubt that further implementation is unlikely to be broadly supported by the students, staff and leaders of higher education institutions.”

You can read the whole declaration here. The students urge the ministers responsible for higher education to commit to:

- Supporting the aims of the Bologna Process, whilst not allowing for further confusion regarding the main goals and tools of the process. This is especially important when looking at the parallel agendas being launched at the same time as the EHEA, such as the EU2020.

- Holistic, In-depth and financially supported continued implementation of all Bologna action lines, with a special focus on the social dimension, mobility and student-centred learning.

- Inter-governmental solidarity, to overcome the ill-effects of the ‘two-speed’ Bologna implementation, rather than an excessive focus on the individual promotion of national higher education systems.

- Full student participation in all decision-making structures at national, regional and institutional levels.

Contact:

Ligia Deca, ESU Chairperson, on phone +32473669892 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Olav Øye, ESU Communications Manager, on phone +32495101879 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To download a press photo of Ligia Deca, please click here.