Council conclusions on the European Universities initiative – Bridging higher education, research, innovation and society: Paving the way for a new dimension in European higher education

Summary:

Set of conclusions adopted by the Council of the European Union on 17 May 2021 concerning the European Universities Initiative.

Further information:

This initiative was launched by the European Council in December 2017 and it is co-developed by Higher Education (HE) institutions, student organisations, EU Member States and the European Commission. It consists of transnational alliances of HE institutions developing long-term structural and strategic cooperation. Two calls for participation were launched in 2019 and 2020.

The Council encourages Member States and the Commission to make sure the initiative remains central to building a European Education Area by 2025. Member States are invited to take advantage of all available funding possibilities to support the development of this initiative. Ministers also recommend more cooperation between education authorities, higher education institutions and stakeholders to remove obstacles to European level cooperation. In this context, they suggest exploring the need for and feasibility of joint European degrees within the alliance.

These conclusions also request from the Commission a request by the end of 2021 on the main outcomes of the mid-term review of the first alliances.

Official

European Commission: European Universities Initiative https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/european-education-area/european-universities-initiative_en

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 17/05/2021: European Universities initiative: Council conclusions pave the way for new dimension in European higher education https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/05/17/european-universities-initiative-council-conclusions-pave-the-way-for-new-dimension-in-european-higher-education/

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