Council sets out roadmap to joint European degree

EU education ministers have agreed to roll out a joint European degree label, an additional certificate to be awarded to students who undertake joint degree programmes meeting certain criteria, as a potential first step towards creating a new type of European degree.

During a meeting on May 12, the Council proposed a roadmap in three phases, beginning with finalising preparations for the joint European degree label to be launched in 2026. The following two years would be spent evaluating the label and exploring the feasibility of a fully-fledged degree. Based on this evidence, member states propose taking a decision in 2029 on whether to introduce the full degree.

The Council also adopted a recommendation setting out the criteria for awarding the joint European degree label, which would be open to programmes delivered by universities from different countries including at least two EU member states.

The agreements “bring us a step closer to one of the key strategic priorities for the future of higher education in the EU: a possible joint European degree that would boost the attractiveness and competitiveness of European higher education on a global scale,” said Andrzej Szeptycki, Polish deputy minister for science and higher education.

Education is largely a competence of the member states, which means that introducing a new European degree type would require legislative changes at national level, and it would be voluntary. A label, on the other hand, would be easier to implement as it would not modify the degree itself.

Jan Palmowski, secretary general of the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, congratulated the Polish presidency of the Council on striking an agreement. “I think the three-step approach that builds trust and alignment among member states is a good way forward,” he told Science|Business.

Palmowski was pleased to see the Council texts acknowledge the pioneering role of European University alliances in developing educational cooperation, but also that the framework goes further, to facilitate transnational cooperation across the entire sector.

He hopes the preparation phase will not result in “a fudge that respects as many national practices as possible,” but instead produce a label that aligns with the principles set out in the agreement. These include strengthening institutional autonomy, adopting a “once-only” principle for quality assurance processes, and trusting internal quality assurance systems within institutions or alliances.

The three-stage plan is “a more cautious, more realistic, and [. . .] a preferable option compared to rushing for a new, fully-fledged European degree straight away,” agrees Maria Kelo, director of institutional development at the European University Association.

While universities would embrace a full degree that is automatically recognised in the different member states, it is a good idea to thoroughly evaluate whether it is likely to deliver the promised benefits, Kelo said. “If not all countries go for it, it might be a lot of hassle and money for not much concrete benefit in terms of making it easier to create joint programmes.”

In March 2024, the Commission presented a blueprint for the creation of a European degree, and in January this year published its conclusions from ten Erasmus+ pilot projects.

In line with the blueprint, the Council has invited the Commission to establish a policy lab to develop a framework for the joint European degree label, including a common method for verifying compliance with the criteria and the visual identity of the label.

The policy lab will be created as part of the working group on higher education of the European Education Area strategic framework. It should begin its work in the autumn, says Kelo. The European University Association will represent higher education institutions in the policy lab. The outcomes should be presented to the Council by mid-2026, so that the label can be rolled out by the end of 2026.

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By the end of 2028, the Commission should submit an evaluation report on the implementation of the label and a feasibility study on a joint European degree to the Council for further decision. Member states have not made any commitment to pursue a fully-fledged European degree, as the next steps will depend on the outcome of these evaluations.

Ensuring mutual recognition of qualifications across the EU has been a long and arduous process. The Bologna Process, launched in 1999, established a European Higher Education Area, but many barriers to the delivery of joint programmes remain in national legislation.

In his report arguing that research, innovation, knowledge and education should be cemented as the “fifth freedom” of the single market, former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta wrote that the blueprint for a European degree should be seen as a “cornerstone” in achieving this ambition.