Higher Education Diplomas Automatically Recognized Between the Benelux and Baltic States Starting May 1
A groundbreaking agreement for the automatic recognition of higher education diplomas has just been implemented between the Baltic and Benelux countries. This marks the first such international agreement between two regions of the European Union.
Starting May 1, 2024, higher education diplomas covered by the Treaty will be automatically recognised in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The treaty enabling this will officially come into effect on this date. This means that if you have obtained a relevant higher education diploma in one of these countries, you will no longer face additional paperwork or costs to have your diploma recognised at the same level if you want to work or pursue further studies in one of the other countries.
The idea for the Higher Education Diploma Recognition Treaty originated in 2015 when the Benelux countries began automatically recognising certain diplomas. The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) had established a similar system. Both regions thought it would be a good idea to extend the system to all six countries. This positions the regions as pioneers within the European Union in completing the European Higher Education Area.
The six countries encourage other European nations to join the Treaty, so that automatic mutual multilateral recognition of higher education diplomas can be more widely applied in the future. To this end, a ministerial meeting will be held on May 13 in Brussels, organised by the Benelux in collaboration with the Baltic partners.