At this meeting, the Bologna Ministers agreed that the EHEA was significantly closer to realization but that a new Bologna Process would be needed by 2010 to meet the challenges presented by Europe's burgeoning "knowledge society." They established a European Register of Quality Assurance, to be managed by institutions, students, and quality agencies. They reaffirmed the need for strong and autonomous universities and vigorous efforts in fostering the employability of their graduates.

The Bologna Declaration is the main guiding document of the Bologna process, which was adopted by the ministers of education of 29 European countries in 1999, and affirmed the establishment of three degree levels: bachelors, masters, and doctoral. It supports a European Higher Education Area in which students and graduates move freely between countries, using prior qualifications in one country as acceptable entry requirements for further study in another.