How does the Bologna Process work?
The European Higher Education Area
The Bologna Process, launched with the Bologna Declaration, of 1999, is one of the main voluntary processes at European level, as it is nowadays implemented in 48 states, which define the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
The Ministerial Conferences
Every two or three years there are Ministerial Conferences organised in order to assess the progress made within the EHEA and to decide on the new steps to be taken.
The Ministerial Conferences have taken place in Bologna, 18-19 June 1999 - Prague, 18-19 May 2001 - Berlin, 18-19 September 2003 - Bergen, 19-20 May 2005 - London, 17-18 May 2007 - Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve, 28-29 April 2009 - Budapest/Vienna, 10-12 March 2010 - Bucharest, 26-27 April 2012 - Yerevan, 14-15 May 2015.
The last Ministerial Conference took place in Paris - France, 24-25 May 2018.
The Bologna Follow-Up Group
The Bologna Follow-Up Group - BFUG - is the executive structure supporting the Bologna Process in-between the Ministerial Conferences. It is in place since autumn 1999.
The work between two meetings of the Bologna Follow-up Group is overseen by a Board.
The Bologna Follow-Up Group Secretariat
The overall follow-up work is supported by a Secretariat, provided by the country hosting the next Ministerial Conference.
Between 1 of July 2015 and 30 June 2018, the Secretariat of the Bologna Follow-up Group is held by France, as organizer of the next 2018 EHEA Ministerial Conference.