In December 2024, the European Commission reported on pilot projects that explored measures to further integrate higher education across Europe.

These projects were launched under the Erasmus+ to provide support to the implementation of the 2022 Council of the EU Recommendation on building bridges for effective European higher education cooperation. Running from 2023 to 2024, these initiatives piloted solutions aimed at simplifying regulatory frameworks and overcoming legal obstacles for interinstitutional cooperation in higher education, such as the establishment of joint programmes and a legal status for university alliances. Their outcomes are now summarised in a ‘Report on the final outcomes of the Erasmus+ policy experimentation projects: European degree (label) and institutionalised EU cooperation instruments’.

Six projects tested a European degree label, with participation from 23 EU member states and 140 higher education institutions. The projects identified more than 50 barriers to joint programme delivery, including regulatory mismatches and administrative complexities. The European degree (label) aims to simplify the development and recognition of joint degree programmes across EU member states. However, it is still unclear how – and how fast – a voluntary adoption of the European degree will ensure that existing challenges will be overcome. Indeed, the different national systems would not only need to incorporate a new kind of a degree into their qualifications frameworks, but would also need to consider how and what national regulations would govern them. The European degree lab and forum, announced by the Commission for launch in 2025, will hopefully ensure that policy makers and stakeholders build a common understanding, share good practice and align expectations on the European degree and its capacity to ensure easier establishment of high-quality joint programmes.

In parallel, four projects analysed options for ‘institutionalised cooperation instruments’, exploring the pros and cons of existing legal options, some of which are already used by European Universities alliances. Cooperation instruments originally developed for other purposes were tested to examine the extent to which they facilitate aspects such as asset sharing, joint hiring and transnational educational activities. Current limitations and/or incompatibilities across national regulatory frameworks hamper these efforts. The studies broadly conclude that no existing legal instrument fits the specificities of interinstitutional collaboration in higher education. They notably suggest adapting the ‘European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation’ (EGTC), a type of legal entity aimed at facilitating cross-border collaboration. Nearly all existing EGTC are indeed organised around shared borders, which is not a feature defining alliances.

Amending existing legislation to fully cater for higher education collaboration may not be a straightforward process, but it remains unlikely that European Commission will set up an entirely new, dedicated instrument. The complexity of links between this type of legal entity and national frameworks, notably in relation to staffing and financial regulations, should not be underestimated. In the meantime, it is becoming increasingly clear that collaboration among institutions will not be able to deepen without an appropriate framework.

 

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