National rules ‘too strict’ for cross-border university collaboration

European Commission official says quality assurance in higher education needs to be ‘more flexible’

The EU needs to make national rules around standards for university courses more flexible to stop them hindering EU member states’ cooperation on higher education, according to a European Commission official.

The bloc has been trying to develop a more joined-up approach to higher education for decades. For example, its European Universities Initiative has allowed universities to form cross-border alliances, enabling students to study in different countries and achieve a ‘European degree’.