This briefing note is published by ENQA in response to the Council Recommendation on a European quality assurance and recognition system in higher education, which was approved by the Council of the European Union on 12 May 2025.
ENQA appreciates that the final text of the Recommendation continues to recognise the importance of quality assurance as a key factor in facilitating internationalisation and welcomes the emphasis on implementing existing tools of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), supporting enhancement-led quality assurance, and removing bureaucracy and legislative barriers to both cross-border quality assurance and automatic recognition. In parallel, ENQA calls on national authorities to ensure that that legislative frameworks fully support cross-border institutional cooperation, including on quality assurance. ENQA repeats its assertion that innovation and deeper international cooperation is only possible if the existing tools and commitments of the Bologna Process are fully implemented, and that caution should be maintained to ensure that the investment in new approaches is proportionate to demand and added value.
