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European Education Area: business as usual is no longer an option

04 Jun 2025

On 3 June, EUA President Josep M Garrell represented the European university sector during a High-Level Implementation Dialogue on the European Education Area (EEA).

This event, convened and hosted by European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, brought together representatives of EU member states and key stakeholders in European education to exchange views on progress in implementing the EEA, as well as how to overcome remaining barriers.

In his remarks, Josep M. Garrell highlighted the success of the EEA to date, notably in complementing and building on the reforms and instruments developed under the Bologna Process and European Higher Education Area. Nonetheless, noting the timeliness of the meeting, he added that given the challenging global context and the EU’s focus on enhancing economic competitiveness, business as usual is no longer an option as the EEA must deliver faster progress, stating that:

“To turn the challenges that Europe currently faces into opportunities, investing in education is crucial. This needs to be an explicit priority of the European political agenda as well as future budgets.”

To this end, Prof. Garrell called on all actors in European higher education to contribute to better communicating the importance of education for Europe’s future. In particular, he emphasised how clearly explaining higher education’s role in fostering better outcomes in terms of employment and competitiveness is key to securing ambitious public funding for universities, both for EU programmes and investment by member states.

Key considerations to drive further implementation of the European Education Area that provides European added value include:

  • Advancing the full implementation of Bologna Process tools.
  • Leveraging European Universities alliances as a testbed for reforms that foster international cooperation for all universities.
  • Placing lifelong learning at the centre of the Union of Skills, including through the use of established tools such as micro-credentials.
TAGS
EU Funding
Academic Cooperation
Internationalisation
European Universities Initiative
Lifelong Learning
European Education Area
Bologna Process and European Higher Education Area
Competitiveness

Useful links

High-Level Implementation Dialogue on the European Education Area [LinkedIn]      
EUA’s work on the European Education Area      
A research, education and innovation partnership for Europe’s competitiveness      
The EU’s next long-term budget must support ambitious and independent programmes for education, research and innovation      
Skills and education for Europe’s competitiveness      
A renewed social contract for Europe and its universities      

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