As we see, students are very much involved in this Prague summit. When carrying the Bologna process forward from Prague, we should enhance and develop student influence at the European level. Quality of higher education must of course be at the centre of any debate on the future directions on higher education. Improving quality assurance and accreditation mechanisms is also necessary in working towards the Bologna goals of international competitiveness, mobility and employability. For European higher education to become more competitive internationally we must be able to show that we have effective quality systems that guarantee that quality of education meets or exceeds agreed standards.
Mobility depends on quality assurance and accreditation.
In its turn recognition rests on quality assurance. I think it is clear that accreditation should play a much greater role in higher education. Choosing methods of quality assurance and accreditation and deciding how they should be organised must of course continue to be national decisions. Trends II reports that there is a powerful drive around Europe towards more quality assurance, but in very different ways. We must therefore find ways for these different systems of quality assurance and accreditation to be recognised by each other.