Source: European Parliament
Under the intergovernmental Bologna process, the common agreement is that i f a Romanian university’s branch in Italy offers a programme accredited in full compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)[1] by the Romanian quality assurance system, it would provide the necessary evidence for trust, which is the basis for recognition by other European Higher Education Area (EHEA) countries.
However, this remains a non-binding commitment, meaning there is no legal barrier preventing Italy from establishing its own accreditation procedures.
In the Rome Ministerial Communiqu é[2], part of the Bologna process, ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that external quality assurance arrangements, when conducted in accordance with the ESG , apply equally to transnational higher education within the EHEA as they do to domestic provision. However, this political commitment does not translate into a legal obligation.
Directive 2005/36/EC[3] applies only when the purpose of recognition is for professional reasons, which does not correspond to the situation described. Accreditation procedures are not addressed in this context.
In the case of recognition for further study, there is no legally binding instrument at EU level. The non-binding Council Recommendation of 2018[4] states that higher education qualification acquired in one country should be automatically recognised at the same level in another one .
Regarding the Lisbon Recognition Convention of the Council of Europe and Unesco[5], the EU did not accede to this Convention and is not in a position to interpret its provisions. Relevant information can be provided by National Academic Recognition Centres (NARICs).
- [1] Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, https://www.enqa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ESG_2015.pdf.
- [2] https://ehea.info/Upload/Rome_Ministerial_Communique.pdf.
- [3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2005/36/oj/eng .
- [4] Council Recommendation of 26 November 2018 on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad, OJ C 444, 10.12.2018, p. 1, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=oj:JOC_2018_444_R_0001.
- [5] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=165.