On 29 and 30 May 2024 ministers from the member countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) met in Tirana, Albania. With the Tirana Communiqué they decided on the further goals and priorities of the inclusive, innovative and connected European Higher Education Area until 2027. The most important goals for the inclusive EHEA include the preparation of a progress report on the implementation of the principles and guidelines regarding the social dimension by 2027. The socio-economic difficulties of students and the recognition of qualifications of refugees will also be given increased attention. In the innovative EHEA the challenges associated with digitisation, such as fraudulent qualifications, will be addressed. Flexible learning pathways and the topic of artificial intelligence will also be addressed and higher education institutions will receive support in their contribution to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and green transition. The connected EHEA will be strengthened with extended physical mobility and the Global Policy Forum Statement was also adopted. Fundamental values also remain an important topic. Annex I to the Communiqué "Statements on Fundamental Values" supplements the commitment to academic freedom with further shared fundamental values. Annex II contains the rules of procedure for the European Higher Education Area.
All documents, reports of the working groups and the accompanying statements from the stakeholder organisations are available on the conference website. The Bologna Process Implementation Report is also available. Activities, focus topics and the implementation status in Austria are dealt with by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research in the national EHEA implementation report.
On 1 July 2024 Romania and the Republic of Moldova took over the EHEA Secretariat and thus the organisational support for the preparation and implementation of the next EHEA work programme. The next EHEA Ministerial Conference will be held in 2027 in Iași and Chișinău.
