The most likely answer to the question: "What does the European institutions have to do with higher education?" would be "Absolutely nothing!" Higher education is not in any of the pillars of the competences of the European Communities and is purely a national matter. The much talked about Bologna process is a fine example of European cooperation but it is also a fine example of European cooperation outside of the EU framework. The Bologna process is a voluntary agreement between governments from all over Europe, not only those already within the European Union, its accession and candidate states and the EEA.

However, the EU still has a substantial impact on higher education in Europe. The most important one are the various student, post graduate and teacher mobility schemes under the framework of SOCRATES. Another important impact are the Lisbon objectives, in which the EU governments have pledged that the goal for the EU should be to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.