Brussels, 22/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Europe should do more to strengthen cooperation among higher education institutions in order to advance the structural unity across the sector called by for the countries taking part in the Bologna Process, said Hungarian Secretary of State for Education Rozsa Hoffman at the last half-yearly meeting of the International Bologna Group in Gödöllõ on 17 March. In a press release, the European Students' Union (ESU) says that the meeting failed to re-invigorate the Bologna Process, which aims to harmonise European higher education systems. “Although progress in implementing the Bologna reforms continues to be slow, the meeting showed little appetite for proposing concrete initiatives which could lead to a change in this lingering situation”, said ESU President Bert Vandenkendelaere. The ESU thinks that one of the clearest symptoms of this lack of interest in the implementation of the Bologna Process is the fact that national student unions are less often consulted than in the early years of Bologna. It fears the Process will fall apart if there is no increase in interest at the next ministerial conference in 2012, which is expected to focus on practical issues and not be restricted to vain theoretical discussions. “Too often, discussions in the International Bologna Group focus on politically less significant issues like language regime, while the true problem lies in the lack of will to fully implement the Bologna changes. Countries should rather consider having binding targets for implementation if they truly believe in the success and competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area”, Vandenkendelaere said. (I.L./transl.rt)