Bologna Process

Abstract

In 1999 the ministers of education from 29 European countries met at the University of Bologna, Italy, and decided to create a common European space of higher education. Ten years later, in 2009, 46 countries were included in this process. In 2001 the European Commission, advocating the advancement of European integration, joined this bold project. Bologna stands for the medieval tradition of scholars and students wandering about and exchanging ideas across Europe. This small elite, communicating in Latin as its common language, pioneered in creating a first European space of higher education. The universities affiliated to each other across Europe were the centers of the emerging European culture, which was based on the rediscovery of Hellenistic philosophy and Roman law.