University Degrees (Technical Dialogue Agreement)

• Country/entity

  Kosovo
  Serbia
  Yugoslavia (former)
  
• Region

  Europe and Eurasia
  Europe and Eurasia
  Europe and Eurasia
  
• Agreement name

  University Degrees (Technical Dialogue Agreement)
• Date

  21 Nov 2011
• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed
• Interim arrangement

  Yes
• Agreement/conflict level

  Interstate/intrastate conflict(s) ( Balkan Conflicts (1991 - 1995) (1998 - 2001) )
• Stage

  Implementation/renegotiation
• Conflict nature

  Government/territory
• Peace process

  Kosovo-Serbia Normalisation Process
• Parties

  Agreement unsigned, parties believed to be technical delegations on behalf of Belgrade and Pristina.
• Third parties

  Agreement unsigned, meeting facilitated by the European Union External Action Service.
• Description

  Short technical agreement in order to progress implementation of the 2nd July 2011 agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas, in order to facilitate mobility and employment of graduates in both Kosovo and Serbia.

• Agreement document

  KV_110702_University degrees (Technical Dialogue Agreement).pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

University degrees

1. On the basis of the operational conclusions of 02 July 2011 on the acceptance of university diplomas, the parties agree to ask the European University Association to certify university diplomas issued by universities of each party for use by the other in connection with further education and/or public employment.

2. Upon verification that university diplomas are issued by authorised institutions in line with European best practices, the certification will be done by a Committee of European academic experts, established by the European University Association.

3. Diploma supplements and transcript of records in the format of those tabled during the Dialogue, and annexed to these conclusions, will be attached to the university diploma.

It will be for the authorities of either party to decide which of the documents are valid for this process, provided that the effect is the acceptance of the qualification represented by the diploma.

4. The EU will make every effort to ensure the implementation of above conclusions from 1 January 2012.

Conclusions on mutual diploma recognition based on the original agreements from 2011

1. Acknowledging the limited progress achieved in the implementation of the 2011 Agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas, the Parties agree to renew their efforts and build on the experience to overcome challenges and simplify processes.

2. Parties agree to implement the agreement on diplomas following certification by the EUA.

Recognition will be divided into professional and academic.

Professional recognition will be performed by the respective relevant governmental bodies, within a maximum of 90 days after receipt of the application and with a ceiling limit fee of equivalent to 50 euros or an equivalent amount.

Professional recognition will be deemed sufficient for employment opportunities, including in governmental bodies.

Academic recognition will be needed only for the continuation of studies;

procedures will depend on the individual higher education institution and will have an overall deadline of five months.

3. All EUA certificates previously obtained will be recognized by the Parties and diplomas certified by the EUA can be directly submitted for recognition.

All previous recognitions of diplomas will be treated as valid.

The implementing partner will provide the Parties with information on the nature of the applicants request (professional or academic) within a maximum period of two months.

In addition, Parties agree to exchange all relevant information on requisite procedures, including fee costs, by the end of February 2016.

4. The agreement on diplomas and these conclusions apply only to all accredited higher education institutions and programs by relevant respective bodies of parties, Belgrade and Pristina respectively.

The Parties will exchange the list of accredited Higher Education Institutions by the end of February 2016.

5. The Parties agree that this procedure applies to the following levels of education:

Bachelor, Master and PhD. The Parties also agree to recognize the diplomas of elementary, secondary, vocational education, and the fifth level of qualification as per European Qualification Framework (EQF), for which modalities of implementation will be discussed in the next meeting.

6. Building on the above, the Parties agree to commence phase two of the original project.

7. The EU will establish a tripartite implementation group by the end of February 2016 to monitor the implementation of these agreements and conclusions.

8. Concurrent implementation of the agreement on Mutual Recognition of Diplomas by both Parties will resume on 1 March 2016.