Theses on Status Quo and Future Challenges of the German System of Higher Education‪.‬

I. Talking about the status quo and future challenges of German higher education is not possible without considering the developments in Europe. Both the programmes of the EU and the so-called Bologna-process are leading to a loss of national sovereignty in the field of higher education. From a historical perspective, this is not a new development. However, it underlines the eroding position of national states. II. It is common knowledge that along with the Catholic Church, the university is one of the oldest institutions in the world. The ideas, which shape and feature the university, have been laid down in the "magna charta universitatum" which has been signed by rectors of the European universities on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the University of Bologna. The declaration "The European Higher Education area", which is very important for the recent and future development of the higher education sector and which was signed by the ministers of 29 European Countries on 19 June 1999 in Bologna, refers to the "magna charta universitatum".