Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 13855
| 15 July 2015
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted
at the 1233rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (8-9 July 2015). 2015 - Fourth part-session
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2066
(2015)
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully
examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2066 (2015) on “Student
mobility” and brought it to the attention of the governments of
member States. It has also forwarded it to the Steering Committee
for Educational Policy and Practice (CDPPE), the Joint Council on Youth
(CMJ) and the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth
Card, for information and possible comments.
2. The Council of Europe plays an important role in the field
of higher education, both at the level of the CDPPE, which has recently
set up an ad hoc working group on higher education issues, and at
the level of the Bologna process, to which the Organisation is making
an active contribution. In this context and in particular with regard
to measures fostering student mobility, it should also be mentioned
that the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Bologna Process, which
took place on 14 and 15 May 2015 in Yerevan at the same time as the
4th Bologna Policy Forum, adopted guidelines for the portability
of grants and loans. The Council of Europe also contributes to youth
mobility through the activities of its Partial Agreement on Youth
Mobility through the Youth Card.
3. Whilst it is not currently foreseen to develop guidelines
to remove obstacles to student mobility, including those regarding
visas, social cover and residence and work permits, the Committee
of Ministers encourages member States to draw on the Assembly’s
proposals when drawing up public policies in this field.
4. The Committee of Ministers recognises the importance of the
action of ENIC-NARIC centres and networks and welcomes the fact
that the ENIC network, which is served jointly by the Council of
Europe and UNESCO, in the framework of the Lisbon Recognition Convention
(ETS No. 165), co-operates closely with the NARIC network of the
European Commission in improving the recognition of qualifications
throughout Europe, as well as between Europe and other regions of
the world. The fair recognition of qualifications is indeed essential
to academic mobility. The Committee of Ministers also wishes to
draw the Assembly’s attention to the establishment of the new Pan-European
Platform on Ethics, Transparency and Integrity in Education (ETINED),
which will be launched at the Prague Forum in October 2015. This
platform will address the problem of diploma mills, online qualifications
and transnational educational schemes.
5. With regard to the Assembly’s recommendation to consider a
revision of the Convention on the European Agreement on Continued
Payment of Scholarships to Students Studying Abroad (ETS No. 69),
the Committee of Ministers can inform the Assembly that the CDPPE,
through its newly established ad hoc working group on higher education
policy, will examine the advisability of such a revision to see
how it could be updated so as to correspond to current needs in
terms of student and staff mobility. If such a review were to be envisaged,
the Committee of Ministers considers that the youth sector bodies
could be associated with this work.
