BRUSSELS – In the context of the EU facilitated dialogue for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, both parties reconfirmed to implement the agreement on mutual acceptance of professional and academic diplomas.
Diplomas will initially be certified by an EU chosen organisation. Following this certification, application for recognition can be submitted to the relevant institutions of each party. 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.
All EUA certificates previously obtained will be recognized by the Parties. Diplomas certified by the EUA already can be directly submitted for recognition. The parties will process these as of 4 April 2016. All previous recognitions of diplomas will be treated as valid.
Moreover, the Parties agreed to expand the scope of the 2011 agreement to include the following levels of education: Higher Education (Bachelor, Master and PhD) and Pre-University Education (elementary, secondary, vocational education, and the fifth level of qualification as per European Qualification Framework).
The European Union will continue supporting the process by funding a project that will facilitate the implementation of the agreement at the initial certification state. Details for the modalities of the project and the selected implementing partner (s) will be announced at a later stage.
In the meantime, interested applicants are asked to approach respective ministries of education in order to submit their applications.