Europe's universities are riddled with "rigidities and hindrances", the European Commission says in a strategy document published this week that calls for "immediate, in-depth and co-ordinated change".
Proposals for sweeping improvements - from the regulation and management of systems to the governance of universities - are contained in a paper approved by the Commission on Wednesday.
The blueprint covers all activities of Europe's universities: delivery of education, research activities and their potential as drivers of innovation.
Its publication is a response to a request made at the informal European Union summit last October. At the time, government heads asked the Commission to identify areas for action that could be used to drive a growth and jobs agenda on which the "Lisbon process" towards economic competitiveness is based.
J n Figel', Commissioner in Charge of Education and Training, told The Times Higher : "Europe's higher education systems remain hampered by a number of obstacles, many of which are decades old."