Greece was one of 29 European states to sign the Bologna Declaration of June 19, 1999, which aims to harmonize European higher education systems in order to enhance mobility within the EU and tailor degree requirements to European economic needs. Scepticism, however, abounds.

The Bologna Declaration foresees the adoption of "a system of easily readable and comparable degrees" along with credit systems which will facilitate the movement of students and faculty both within and beyond the boundaries of the European Union. Specifically, the plan calls for a two-cycle system consisting of a three-year undergraduate phase leading to qualifications relevant to the European labour market, and a two-year graduate phase for a masters degree (three more years are required for a doctorate). The goal is to enhance European economy and reduce unemployment through the increased supply of trained personnel for the industrial sector.

The plan has met with mixed, though generally positive, responses from Europe's educational and student communities, as it demands substantial adjustments of countries traditional systems of higher education. Some EU countries, such as Austria, Germany and Italy, have begun experimenting the two-cycle system.

Athens conference
At an international two-day conference held in Athens last January, to discuss the impact of the Bologna Declaration on Greek higher education, university officials voiced reservations over basic aspects of the plan. Themis Xanthopoulos, dean of the Athens Polytechnic School, and George Babiniotis, dean of the University of Athens, expressed the concerns of the Greek university community over the plans emphasis on fast-track professional training on the undergraduate level, at the expense of university education in the broader sense, which will be limited to expensive graduate programs. Xanthopoulos also noted that a heavy emphasis on vocational education could weaken European performance in basic scientific research.

At the same meeting, Greek Education Ministry head, Petros Efthymiou, announced the decision of the Greek government not to reduce the duration of undergraduate programs from four to three years. Nonetheless, he allowed the possibility of adjusting semester credit hours to conform to European standards.

Talks on the issues of convergence will continue at the Convention of Higher Education Institutions scheduled for March 29-30 in Salamanca, Spain. While in May, Education Ministers will meet in Prague to fine-tune the project and discuss its implementation. The non-binding deadline for convergence is 2010.