WRITTEN QUESTION No. 119/96 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Ban on access to Belgian universities
Date: 1996-02-01
Institutions: ALAVANOS, European Parliament
Subjects: Belgium, access to education, equivalence of diplomas, recognition of diplomas, school fees, university













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91996E0119

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 119/96 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Ban on access to Belgian universities  


Official Journal C 217 , 26/07/1996 P. 0007 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0119/96 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (1 February 1996)Subject: Ban on access to Belgian universitiesFurther to my Question No 2194/94 ((OJ C 36, 13.2.1995, p. 51. )) and the answer given by the Commission, I have been informed that the educational authorities in Belgium are continuing to block the access to Belgian universities of persons holding secondary educational certificates from other Member States of the Union (Greece, France, etc.) by imposing very strict tests to establish the equivalence of their foreign educational certificates and diplomas and requiring them to pay FB 1000. The Belgian authorities base their attitude on the law of 19 March 1971 of the Arrêté royal of 20.7.1971 on the equivalence of foreign diplomas and certificates.Does the Commission consider that this attitude adopted by the Belgian State is in keeping with the Treaty on European Union and Community legislation as regards education? Might this matter not fall within the scope of the judgment handed down by the Court of Justice in Case 47/93 ('minerval'), even though the Belgian authorities view it as a totally different matter? Has the Commission examined the present situation in order to ascertain whether the Belgian State has complied with the judgment handed down by the European Court of Justice? What action does it intend to take, if it emerges that the law of 19 March 1971 of the Arrêté royal of 20.7.1971 is incompatible with Community legislation?Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (2 April 1996)The question is concerned with cases in which people holding secondary education certificates from other Member States are refused access to Belgian universities. In these cases, applicants are required to take very strict entrance examinations to be granted equivalent status.The first thing I would point out is that the recognition of certificates and diplomas at all levels of education is a matter for the Member States. Under Article 126 of the EC Treaty, the Community merely has powers to encourage the recognition of certificates and periods of study. The Commission has developed a range of resources to facilitate and encourage mutual recognition, for instance university networking in the various subject areas, guides, data bases, information centre network arrangements (the Naric network) and the system of academic credit transfers.As regards Written Question No 2194/94 which the Honourable Member refers to, I would point out that the Court of Justice's judgment in case No 47/93 was concerned with other reasons for non-admission than in this case, e.g. the requirement that students furnish proof of having been admitted to the university of origin and of having paid the 'minerval' or registration fee. This is a different matter and is currently the subject of infringement proceedings.Having said that, the Commission intends to take a close look at the Belgian legislation referred to by the Honourable Member and to any specific information and individual complaints it receives with a view to appraising the scale of measures adopted by the Belgian authorities.