Budapest and Vienna will host on 11 and 12 March a ministerial conference and a forum on the Bologna Declaration and the new structures of European higher education. This is the second conference on this issue organized by the European Unnion.

The Bologna Declaration has reformed the structures of European higher education systems over the past ten years in a revolutionary way and has played a remarkable role in strengthening the competitiveness and attractiveness of European higher education.

To honour and to assess the achievements of common action and its contribution to enhancing the quality and the diversification of higher education in Europe, an extraordinary Ministerial Anniversary Conference will be held and co-hosted by Hungary and Austria on 11-12 March 2010, in Budapest and Vienna.

Last year conference was held in Louvaine-la-neuve, and so was the forum of experts. The Benelux Ministers invited their European colleagues in charge of higher education in the 46 countries participating in the Bologna Process, to jointly define political orientations for the coming 10 years.

The Ministers in charge of higher education of Austria and Hungary invited their colleagues from the other 44 countries participating in the Bologna Process - at the time originally envisaged for the establishment of the European Higher Education Area - to review and assess the progress made towards the achievements of this unique partnership. In the time-honoured tradition of the Bologna Process, the stakeholders will attend the Conference as part of the official delegations and will assess the results of the joint efforts together with the Ministers.

The venues of the conference will be the Parliament Building in Budapest and the Imperial Palace Congress Centre in Vienna. On 12 March 2010 the Second Bologna Policy Forum will be convened as a dialogue between the 46 Bologna countries and countries from across the world. A festive evening event will take place before the second part of the Bologna Ministerial Anniversary Conference in Vienna jointly with representatives from different stakeholders.

Bologna is more than mere convergence of policies set by public authorities. Higher education institutions, staff and students all together have made an impressive contribution to the implementation and will continue to define the shape of the European Higher Education Area.