EU education ministries list the challenges on the path towards the European degree

Directors from three EU education ministries speaking at an event in Florence on the European Degree last week listed the challenges to be overcome on the path to the pan-European diploma.

On 12/05/2025, EU education ministers agreed on a step-by-step process to create a European Degree, starting with a Degree Label and then a Joint European Degree.

Referring to the ministers' decision, Magdalena Maciejewska, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, said on 21/11/2025: "Many important issues and keywords that appeared often during the negotiations [on the degree] were balance, inclusion, academic freedom, autonomy and the differences between universities already ready for implementation and those that are not. As government representatives, we must ensure that everyone can join this initiative if they wish, since it is a voluntary process."

She continued: "Polish universities are ready... They often blamed us for not being ambitious enough, saying that we should focus more on who is ready and who is not. But we…