THE Commission with her answer to a question from MEPs, she essentially vindicates the law of the Minister of Education, Religion and Sports Kyriakos Pierrakakis regarding the establishment of branches of foreign universities in Greece.

As the Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mrs. Iliana Ivanova, said in response to a question from the KKE MEPs, Mr. Costas Papadakis and Lefteris -Nikolaou Alavanou, for the specific issue:

“According to established jurisprudence, the European Court of Justice has confirmed the need for Member States to fulfill their commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on freedom of establishment, free movement of services, as well as the provisions of the Charter concerning academic freedom, the freedom to establish higher education institutions and the freedom to conduct a business’, making an explicit reference to the 2020 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the case of Hungary.

The same decision is invoked, as is known and has been publicly exposed many times in the debate on the establishment of branches of foreign universities in Greece, by many of the opinions of constitutional experts (Venizelos, Skouris, Manitakis, Alivizatos, etc.), who emphasized the constitutionality of specific legislative initiative.

This response by the Commission could be considered a form of preliminary for the way in which the Court of Justice of the European Union will respond in the event that it is asked a relevant pre-trial question by the Council of State.

The European Commission, through Mrs. Ivanova, also welcomes the intention of the Ministry of Education to ratify the Lisbon Convention.

The Convention ensures the rights of students, in the context of transnational mobility, through an improved recognition of their aspects.

Mrs. Ivanova’s relevant answer is as follows:

According to Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Member States are responsible for the content of teaching and the organization of their education systems, as the EU contributes to the development of quality and inclusive education for all by encouraging cooperation between of the Member States and, if necessary, supporting and complementing their action.

The Commission is committed to strengthening the mutual recognition of academic qualifications within the EU and is working with Member States and stakeholders to ensure the automatic recognition of qualifications within the EU, building on the commitments made by education ministers in 2018 and in 2023.

In this context, the Commission welcomes Greece’s intention to ratify the Lisbon Convention on Recognition 3. This ensures the rights of students in the context of transnational mobility through a more streamlined recognition of diplomas.

The Bologna Process is a voluntary intergovernmental process of 49 countries, crossing EU borders, which established the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in 2010.

Countries participating in the Bologna process seek to fulfill a set of common commitments that facilitate transnational cooperation and mobility, including quality assurance and recognition of academic units. Its activities are not related to the admission or tuition fees of students.

According to established case law 4, the European Court of Justice has confirmed the need for Member States to fulfill their commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on freedom of establishment, free movement of services, as well as the provisions of the Charter on academic freedom, the freedom to establish higher education institutions and the freedom to conduct business.