The Council welcomed the outcome of the debate organised
by the Commission in cooperation with the MemberStates
and the opinion expressed by Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee
and other European and national organisations on the subject of recognition.
It considered that the process that had been started was on-going and
required the setting-up of a permanent dialogue with all the parties
involved. To this effect it called on the Commission to ensure that the
report on the results of the debate was given a wide circulation and to
promote a greater discussion of this subject; stressed that the dialogue
between the relevant authorities in the two areas of recognition concerned
should be incorporated into the current activities of the existing national
structures; called on the Member States and the Commission to promote better
coordination between the national structures responsible for disseminating
information on the two areas of recognition, namely NARIC, the
Euro-Info-Centres, etc., and to build up the relevant databases, such as
ORTELIUS, so as to promote greater transparency within the higher education
systems; called on institutes of higher education, professional organisations
and other relevant authorities to continue the dialogue in order to ensure
that the study programmes made sufficient allowance for the needs of the
professions at European level; called on the Commission: - to encourage the
involvement of representatives from the business and professional world, the
social partners and students in any appropriate subject network provided for
by SOCRATES; - to carry out an assessment, in collaboration with the Member
States, of the various suggestions that had been put forward in the course of
the debate: = the feasibility of putting in place, on a voluntary basis, a
European supplement as an administrative annex to the university degree. This
annex would comprise a description of the studies completed by the degree
holder and would be aimed at promoting transparency and providing greater recognition
for the study course in Member States other than the country of learning; it
would also take account of the experience acquired in this area by other
organisations, such as the Council of Europe and UNESCO; = the
appropriateness of identifying and promoting an awareness of the procedures
at national or Community level, which could help in finding an amicable
solution to the disagreement that existed in respect of the recognition of
qualifications, in response to individual requests addressed directly or,
preferably, through the NARIC network or the network of coordinators for the
various directives; - to provide it and Parliament, before the end of 1998,
with a report on the headway that had been made in this area and on the
progress achieved on the different initiatives taken at Community and
national level.