Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, speaking ahead of the two-yearly meeting of higher education ministers in Bucharest (Romania), in the framework of the Bologna Process, asked to urgently modernise their higher education systems and remove barriers to a fully functioning European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

In the framework of the meeting of higher education ministers from 47 European countries in Bucharest on 26 and 27 April, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou asked to urgently modernise their higher education systems and remove barriers to a fully functioning European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in response to the crisis and rising youth unemployment, as it was already requested in November 2011.

Higher education ministers are meeting in Bucharest to agree on reforms to create a modernised, open European Higher Education Area. Against the backdrop of the crisis and its social impact, Ministers have agreed that reforms need to concentrate on developing the underexploited capacity of higher education to contribute to growth and employability – a message that is also central to the European Commission's 'Agenda for Modernising Higher Education Systems in Europe', adopted in September 2011.

In addition, the Bologna Process' main objective is to create a European Higher Education Area in which students can choose from a wide and transparent range of high quality courses and benefit from smooth recognition procedures. Ms Vassiliou added that this objective will not be achieved without securing sufficient funding for higher education to make a lasting contribution to economic wellbeing and social progress.