About the Bologna Process - How it works...
The Bologna Process is taken forward through a work programme that receives orientations from ministerial conferences every two/three years. These conferences are prepared by a Bologna Follow-up Group, which in turn receives input from working groups and seminars.
Ministerial Conferences
| Bologna, 18-19 June 1999 | Bologna Declaration | |
| Prague, 18-19 May 2001 | Prague Communiqué | Conference website |
| Berlin, 18-19 September 2003 | Berlin Communiqué | Conference website |
| Bergen, 19-20 May 2005 | Bergen Communiqué | Conference website |
| London, 17-18 May 2007 | London Communiqué | Conference website |
| Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve,
28-29 April 2009 |
Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué | Conference website |
| Budapest/Vienna, 10-12 March 2010 |
Budapest-Vienna Declaration | Conference website |
Bologna Follow-up Group
Oversees the process between the ministerial conferences and is composed of:
- representatives of the 47 countries belonging to the European HIgher Education Area;
- European Commission as additional full member;
- eight consultative members, namely Council of Europe, UNESCO's European Centre for Higher Education, European University Association, European Association of Institutions in Higher Education, European Students' Union, European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Education International Pan-European Structure, and BUSINESSEUROPE.
The Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG) meets at least once every six month, is chaired by the country holding the Presidency of the European Union and is supported by a Bologna Secretariat.
From 1 July 2010 onwards, the Bologna Process and also the Bologna Follow-up Group will be jointly chaired by the country holding the Presidency of the European Union and a non-EU country (in alphabetical order, starting with Albania).
Working Groups
To implement the Bologna reforms and to make progress in all priority areas, strong efforts will be required especially at national and institutional level. To support these efforts with joint action at European level, the Ministers entrusted the Bologna Follow-up Group to prepare a work plan for the period leading up to the Ministerial Conference in 2012.
As part of the 2009-2012 work plan, the Bologna Follow-up Group set up seven working groups on the following topics:
- Social Dimension
- Qualifications Frameworks
- International Openness
- Mobility
- Recognition
- Reporting on the implementation of the Bologna Process
- Transparency mechanisms
To further disseminate the Bologna reforms, countries and organisations participating in the Bologna Process also organise various seminars and conferences that are announced via the calendar of events.
For the period 2007-2009, the Bologna Follow-up Group had adopted a work programme for the time leading to the ministerial meeting in April 2009 and established working or coordination groups on the following topics: data collection, employability, European higher education in a global setting, lifelong learning, mobility, qualifications frameworks, social dimension, and stocktaking. Moreover, a series of official Bologna Seminars were organised, serving the dual purpose of policy development and dissemination.