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Recommendation 2005 (2012) Final version
The consolidation and international openness of the European Higher Education Area
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, referring
to its Resolution 1906
(2012) on the consolidation and international openness
of the European Higher Education Area, welcomes the Committee of
Ministers’ initiatives aimed at strengthening dialogue between public
authorities, academia, student representatives and civil society
with a view to better defining the Council of Europe’s contribution
to the Bologna Process. The Assembly also welcomes the representation
of the Organisation in the Bologna Follow-up Group and values the
assistance provided for the development of national qualifications
frameworks in a number of Council of Europe member States.
2. The Assembly strongly believes that the role of the Council
of Europe in the field of higher education is crucial and irreplaceable.
Despite the present difficult budgetary context and the constraints
it entails, the Council of Europe should continue to support higher
education reforms aimed at meeting the goals of the Bologna Process
and at consolidating the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
3. Referring to its Resolution
1907 (2012) on governance of higher education institutions
in the European Higher Education Area, the Assembly stresses the
importance of preserving and strengthening the independence of higher
education institutions and academic freedom as fundamental principles
for the EHEA.
4. The Assembly therefore invites the Committee of Ministers
to:
4.1. reflect the strategic importance
of higher education in its decisions on the Council of Europe programme
of activities and continue to ensure the active participation of
the Council of Europe in the implementation of the EHEA and in the
Bologna Process;
4.2. ask its competent steering committee to:
4.2.1. study
the relationship and interaction between qualifications frameworks,
recognition of qualifications and quality assurance, and identify
measures needed to ensure coherence in the implementation of the
EHEA instruments;
4.2.2. study the feasibility of devising a pan-European mechanism
aimed at facilitating the recognition of qualifications, such as
a European qualifications passport;
4.2.3. consider ways and means of fostering the exchange of good
practices in higher education reform between EHEA member countries
and non-EHEA countries;
4.3. strengthen co-operation with the European Union in this
area, in order to provide targeted support for the consolidation
of the EHEA in the countries that have joined the EHEA recently
and to provide assistance in reaching the objectives of the Bologna
Process, including in terms of academic mobility.