National and European systems intertwined: Higher education policymaking in the EU context

Abstract

Higher education policymaking in the European Union (EU) is complex due to the ambiguity created by its broad yet blurred role. EU integration scholarship and European studies (e.g. Wallace et al., 2020) have tended to overlook the study of education because of the EU's lack of legislative power over it. Higher education policy scholars, however, have noted the increasing importance of the EU's role in higher education since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force in 2009, and the EU gained supporting competence in education (Vukasović et al., 2019). The Lisbon Strategy of 2000 had previously made it possible to address education questions via economic and social policies. This generated a complex interplay between institutional structures and policy ideas. It also created tension within and across EU institutions (Novoa Lawn, 2002).