International guidelines for mutual recognition of qualifications
The European Union
EU has adopted the Directive 2005/36/EC to facilitate professional recognition with a view to practising regulated professions:
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Directive 2005/36/EC – Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications.
The directive has been implemented in Danish legislation.
The Danish Agency for Universities and Internationalisation coordinates the administration of the directive in Denmark.
As for academic recognition (recognition for education and training purposes), there are no similar binding rules within the framework of the European Union. However, there is a principle of equal access to education programmes of one EU member state for all EU citizens. Furthermore, in order to promote mutual recogntion, the NARIC network has been established.
See also:
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Recognition of diplomas in the European Union – European Commission
The Council of Europe and
UNESCO
Since the 1950s, the Council of Europe and UNESCO have adopted a number of conventions and recommendations on mutual recognition.
The most important convention is the "Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region", i.e. the Lisbon Recognition Convention, which was adopted on 11 April 1997.
Read more about the Lisbon Recognition Convention and its subsidiary documents:
The ENIC/NARIC networks provide links to other Council of Europe/UNESCO conventions etc.:
The Bologna process
According to the Bologna declaration adopted in 1999 the European ministers of education strive to establish, by 2010, a European-wide higher education area. Among other things, the declaration contains recommendations on the degree structure, greater transparency in the education programmes, the application of systems of credit such as ECTS and Diploma Supplement in order to promote mutual recognition, cooperation in quality assurance and promoting the European dimension in education programmes.
Recognition is important for promoting international education and promoting cross-border mobility of students, researchers and workers. That is why recognition issues are also an important aspect of the Bologna process.
The ministers of education have committed themselves to improving the recognition system. National action plans on recognition were presented to the 2007 Ministerial Conference, which commissioned the ENIC/NARIC networks to analyse the action plans:
The Communique of the 2009 ministerial conference in Leuven concluded, among other things, that the Bologna process to follow up on the recommendations of the analysis.
Read more about the Bologna process:
Nordic agreements
The Reykjavik DeclarationOn 9 June 2004, the Nordic ministers of education adopted a declaration which is to serve as an instrument for deeper co-operation concerning mutual recognition in higher education in the Nordic Region: the "Nordic Declaration on Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education" or "The Reykjavik Declaration" for short:
The Reykjavik Declaration replaces the 1975 Decision of the Nordic Council of Ministers on the validity of examinations (the Sigtuna Agreement). The declaration is based on the Lisbon Convention, ratified by all of the Nordic countries, and tries to go one step further. Among other things, it sets out to ensure that Nordic higher education qualifications receive full mutual recognition, and that the Nordic countries achieve better agreement in assessing and recognising qualifications obtained in both Nordic and other countries. Nordic Council of Ministers will monitor progress by collecting reports every two years from the national ENIC offices.
Agreement on access to higher education
An agreement from 1996 aims to ensure equal access to higher
education in the Nordic countries:
