Milestones: from the Sorbonne to Tirana

In a nutshell

The Bologna Process has no headquarters and no single founding treaty. It moves forward at ministerial conferences: every two or three years the ministers responsible for higher education meet, look at what has been done and agree on the next steps. Each meeting ends with a short joint text – a declaration or a communiqué – and the list below links to every one of them.

Read one after another, these texts tell a story in four stages: first an idea, then a set of shared tools, then the work of making the tools function in every country, and most recently a stronger focus on the values of higher education. The stages are described first; the full list follows.

Sources: [1]

Four stages in short

1998–2001: the idea

It began with four countries. In May 1998 the ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom signed the Sorbonne Declaration. A year later 29 countries signed the Bologna Declaration, which gave the process its name and its first aims: degrees that are easy to read and compare, two main cycles of study, a credit system such as ECTS, more mobility and European cooperation in quality assurance. In Prague in 2001 ministers of 32 signatory countries widened the agenda to lifelong learning, students as active partners and the attractiveness of European higher education, and the social dimension of higher education appeared in a communiqué for the first time. Croatia, Cyprus and Turkey were accepted as new members.

2003–2010: building the tools

The next conferences turned the aims into instruments. In Berlin in 2003 the doctorate became the third cycle, and ministers agreed that from 2005 every graduate should receive the Diploma Supplement automatically and free of charge. Bergen in 2005 adopted the overarching qualifications framework and the first European standards for quality assurance (ESG); London in 2007 set up EQAR, the register of quality assurance agencies. In Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve in 2009 ministers of 46 countries set priorities until 2020, among them the target that at least 20% of graduates should have studied or trained abroad. In 2010, in Budapest and Vienna, the European Higher Education Area was officially launched.

2012–2018: making the tools work

With the area in place, the conferences turned to how well the tools work in practice. In Bucharest in 2012 ministers committed to work towards automatic recognition of comparable degrees. Yerevan in 2015 adopted revised quality standards (ESG), the ECTS Users’ Guide 2015 and a common approach to quality assurance of joint programmes. Paris in 2018 added the short cycle to the qualifications framework, adopted a new Diploma Supplement template and named three key commitments that every member should meet – see The Process.

2020–2024: values and the next decade

The Rome conference of November 2020 was held online. Ministers set the aim of an inclusive, innovative and interconnected European Higher Education Area by 2030, adopted principles and guidelines to strengthen the social dimension and recommendations on learning and teaching, and agreed a definition of academic freedom as the freedom of academic staff and students to engage in research, teaching, learning and communication without interference or fear of reprisal. In 2022 the rights of representation of Russia and Belarus were suspended. In Tirana in 2024 ministers kept the suspension, committed to the fundamental values of higher education – academic freedom and integrity, institutional autonomy, participation of students and staff, public responsibility – and asked for a revised ECTS Users’ Guide and revised ESG for 2027. The next conference will be hosted by Romania and the Republic of Moldova in 2027.

Sources: [2] [3] [4] [5] [7] [6] [9] [10] [11] [12] [14] [15] [16]

Ministerial conferences, one by one

1. 1998 Paris (Sorbonne) · 25 May 1998
   Sorbonne Joint Declaration (1998)

   Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom sign a joint declaration on harmonising the architecture of European higher education.

2. 1999 Bologna · 18–19 June 1999
   The Bologna Declaration (1999)

   Ministers of 29 countries sign the Bologna Declaration.

3. 2001 Prague · 18–19 May 2001
   Prague Communiqué (2001)

   32 signatory countries add lifelong learning, students as active partners and the social dimension; Croatia, Cyprus and Turkey join.

4. 2003 Berlin · 18–19 September 2003
   Berlin Communiqué (2003)

   The doctoral level is included as the third cycle; every graduate from 2005 is to receive the Diploma Supplement automatically and free of charge.

5. 2005 Bergen · 19–20 May 2005
   Bergen Communiqué (2005)

   Adoption of the Framework of Qualifications for the EHEA and of the first Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG).

6. 2007 London · 17–18 May 2007
   London Communiqué (2007)

   Establishment of EQAR, the European Quality Assurance Register.

7. 2009 Leuven / Louvain-la-Neuve · 28–29 April 2009
   Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué (2009)

   Ministers of 46 countries set priorities until 2020, including the target that at least 20% of graduates study or train abroad.

8. 2010 Budapest and Vienna · 10–12 March 2010
   Budapest-Vienna Declaration (2010)

   The European Higher Education Area is officially launched.

9. 2012 Bucharest · 26–27 April 2012
   Bucharest Communiqué (2012)

   Ministers commit to work towards automatic recognition of comparable academic degrees.

10. 2015 Yerevan · 14–15 May 2015
    Yerevan Communiqué (2015)

    Adoption of the revised ESG, the ECTS Users' Guide 2015 and the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes.

11. 2018 Paris · 24–25 May 2018
    Paris Communiqué (2018)

    A revised qualifications framework, now including the short cycle, and a new Diploma Supplement template.

12. 2020 Rome · 19 November 2020
    Rome Ministerial Communiqué (2020)

    Meeting online, ministers set the aim of an inclusive, innovative and interconnected area by 2030 and adopt a statement on academic freedom.

13. 2024 Tirana · 29–30 May 2024
    Tirana Ministerial Communiqué (2024)

    The suspension of Russia's and Belarus's rights of representation, decided in 2022, is maintained.

How to read this list

What a declaration or communiqué is. It is a joint text agreed by the ministers at the end of a conference. It records commitments, but it is not EU law and not a treaty: each country builds the commitments into its own law and practice, which is why the same tool can look slightly different from one country to another (see How it works).

How the circle grew. Four countries signed in 1998, 29 in 1999 and 32 in 2001; 46 took part in 2009. Today the European Higher Education Area has 49 member countries and the European Commission.

Where to start reading. The Bologna Declaration of 1999 is short and sets out the original aims. The Budapest-Vienna Declaration of 2010 marks the launch of the area, the Paris Communiqué of 2018 names the key commitments, and the Tirana Communiqué of 2024 is the latest word.

About the notes. Each note sums up one or two decisions that the official sources describe; it is not a full summary. For the details, follow the link to the text itself.

Sources: [4] [9] [17]

Sources

1. EHEA – Ministerial Conferences and Communiqués
2. Sorbonne Joint Declaration (1998)
3. EHEA – Bologna, 18–19 June 1999
4. EHEA – Ministerial Conference Prague 2001
5. Berlin Communiqué (2003)
6. EHEA – Quality Assurance
7. EHEA – Qualification Frameworks
8. EHEA – Diploma Supplement
9. EHEA – Ministerial Conference Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve 2009
10. EHEA – Ministerial Conference Budapest-Vienna 2010
11. EHEA – Recognition
12. EHEA – ECTS
13. EHEA – Three-degree cycle
14. Paris Communiqué (2018)
15. Rome Ministerial Communiqué, 19 November 2020 (text published by the Council of Europe)
16. Tirana Ministerial Communiqué (2024), full text
17. EHEA – Members

Sources checked on 26 October 2026. Official documents are linked, not republished.