The results confirm the positive impact of these two key EU initiatives fostering transparency and a common understanding of qualifications and skills across Europe in the education and employment sectors.

The European Commission has published the results of the evaluation of Europass and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), namely: 

• a report and a Commission Staff working document on the evaluation of the implementation and impact of Europass decision
• a Commission Staff working document on the evaluation of the 2017 EQF Council Recommendation as well as an executive summary

Europass evaluation: a one-stop shop for qualifications, skills and mobility

The evaluation of Europass aimed to understand the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and the EU added value that this EU service brings to the job market and education sector. 

The results of the evaluation were supported by stakeholder consultations which included, among others, public consultations, users and stakeholder surveys, qualitative observations as well as stakeholder interviews.

Such consultation confirmed that Europass is a valuable one-stop shop bringing together skills, qualifications and labour mobility tools. Europass is indeed effective in fostering a common framework for the transparency and understanding of skills and qualifications across the EU.

Key findings show that Europass is most popular with young users in the early stages of their career.

The potential of Europass can be further increased by providing more information on qualifications and learning opportunities as well as information in the areas of career guidance, validation opportunities and recognition of qualifications with stronger links to national services.

Europass has proven to be effective in facilitating mobility for work and study in the EU, as a solution to present knowledge, skills, and competences in a standardised format. This is because Europass offers tools, services, and information especially relevant to those seeking job and learning opportunities across borders.

In this context, further connections with EURES, the European cooperation network of Employment Services, could strengthen the impact of both platforms. Moreover, synergies with other EU platforms are seen as advantageous.

The European Digital Credentials for Learning are seen as highly relevant to ensure interoperability and to support Member States in their digital transformation of credentials.

Further development in data analysis and AI could support the provision of more tailored services to Europass users and unlock the initiative’s potential to address skills shortages.

Evaluation of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF): a reference point for understanding qualifications

The evaluation of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), supported by a public consultation with stakeholders and users, concludes that the EQF has firmly established itself as a reference point to better understand qualifications across Europe, especially from the formal education/training domain.

This success is well reflected in the very large extent of implementation of the EQF – not only have the vast majority of EQF countries (36 out of 38) referenced their national frameworks to the EQF, but improvement is also seen in the availability of information and use of learning outcomes, among others.

Benefits are visible also beyond the improved transparency of qualifications – the EQF also has a global reach, being perceived as a source of inspiration for qualifications frameworks across the globe, and serves as a backbone of many EU and national policies and instruments for transparency of skills and qualifications, given its comprehensive nature.

It Is clear from the evaluation that the existing EQF structures and processes are to be maintained – ensuring trust among countries requires continuous updates and improvements in a changing landscape of qualifications.

The findings also point at questions for the future – how the EQF can help even further employers, workers and students, or support procedures, such as recognition of qualifications in particular across borders.

The EQF has more to achieve, also by helping bridge the gap between formal and non-formal learning – an important factor given the urgent need to address existing skills shortages and enable upskilling and reskilling, highlighted in the European Year of Skills. 

Background information

The European Skills Agenda, (updated in 2020), provides a strategic framework to empower both individuals and businesses across Europe to develop the skills needed for a thriving future and economy.  Both, Europass and the EQF are tools set out by the Skills Agenda:

The Europass website was established in 2005, a modernised platform was launched in 2020 implementing the Europass Decision of 2018.

The European Qualifications Framework (“EQF”) is an EU transparency tool for qualifications set up in 2008 and revised in 2017. It serves as a “translation device”, allowing the comparison of qualifications by looking at the relation of their specific levels to eight common EQF levels.

The EQF process includes EU Member States, EFTA countries, candidate and potential candidate countries. The EQF process included 38 countries at the time of the evaluation (2022). In 2024, the EQF process includes 41 countries as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine joined the process since then. 

Related documents

The Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the evaluation of the implementation and impact of the Europass Decision (EU)2018/646 (COM/2024/135) is available in 24 languages and the accompanying Commission Staff working document (SWD(2024)71) in English only.

The Commission Staff working document on the evaluation of the 2017 Council Recommendation on the European Qualifications Framework (SWD/2024/141) is available in English only and the Executive Summary (SWD/2024/142) in English, French and German.