WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3943/97 by Marjo MATIKAINEN-KALLSTRÖM to the Commission. Degrees awarded by 'cowboy' universities
Date: 1997-12-12
Institutions: European Parliament, MATIKAINEN-KALLSTROEM
Subjects: diploma, education policy, educational institution, educational system, equivalence of diplomas, mutual recognition principle, recognition of diplomas, school legislation, university

C 187/98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16. 6. 98

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-3937/97 and E-3950/97
given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 1998)

Following the information provided to the Commission by the Honourable Member, the Commission considers
that  special  fees  imposed  on  ice  hockey  players  who  are  not  members  of  the  United  Kingdom  ice  hockey
association when they are recruited by a British club amount to a discrimination contrary to the EC Treaty.

Where such ice hockey players wish to practise ice hockey as a professional activity, the transfer fee and the
registration fee would constitute obstacles to free movement of workers and would directly contravene Article 48
of the EC Treaty, in line with the Bosman ruling. Furthermore, when hockey is played as a non-professional
activity,  either  by  a  family  member  of  a  European  worker  or  by  a  European  citizen  residing  in  the  United
Kingdom, the fee for non-British players may also constitute a discrimination against European citizens and may
contravene the EC Treaty.

Finally, the Commission wishes to confirm that the Bosman ruling does not only concern professional football,
but also any professional or semi-professional sports activity.

(98/C 187/148)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3943/97

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallstro¤m (PPE) to the Commission

(12 December 1997)

Subject: Degrees awarded by (cid:145)cowboy(cid:146) universities

In  Europe  more  and  more  degrees  are  being  awarded  by  (cid:145)cowboy(cid:146)  universities  which  make  empty  promises
about providing recognized academic qualifications. Recent discussions have centred on certain UK universities
which, owing to a funding crisis, have had to tempt (cid:145)correspondence course students(cid:146) from round the world. The
majority  of  European  universities  are  recognized,  high-quality  educational  establishments,  but  some  of  them
have no official place in any country(cid:146)s education system.

In view of the above, how does the Commission intend to take action against these (cid:145)cowboy(cid:146) universities in the
EU in order to prevent their activities from jeopardizing the objective of mutual recognition of degrees in the EU
Member States? How does the Commission intend to prevent these (cid:145)cowboy(cid:146) universities from issuing worthless
degrees and certificates whose substance contravenes national legislation, e.g. in Finland the University Degrees
Regulation?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission

(12 February 1998)

Article 126 of the EC Treaty states that (cid:145)The Community shall contribute to the development of quality education
by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing their
action,  while  fully  respecting  the  responsibility  of  the  Member  States  for  the  content  of  teaching  and  the
organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity.(cid:146)

It follows from this that the validation of a Member State(cid:146)s diplomas and educational establishments is a matter
for the national authorities. In theory, each Member State has mechanisms for preventing the proliferation of
diplomas that are not officially approved or are of dubious quality.

Any citizen wanting information on the status of educational establishments located in his or her own Member
State or in other Member States may contact one of the National Academic Recognition Centres (NARIC), which
form a Community network created on the initiative of the Commission. A list containing the details of these
Centres has been sent direct to the Honourable Member, as well as to the European Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.