Lifelong learning is a focus of both the Bologna Process and the European Union (EU). It has a central role to play in achieving the goal of the Lisbon Strategy: ‘to make the EU the world’s most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy in the world, capable of sustaining growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.’ After this objective was set in the European Council summit in 2000, the European Commission published a communication and a resolution supporting the establishment of a European area of lifelong learning.

The aim of lifelong learning is to provide educational guidance and opportunities to Europeans of all ages and backgrounds. It seeks to create equal and open access to high quality learning and encourages more flexible learning outside of the traditional formal structure of education. Lifelong learning entails learning for personal and social purposes in addition to employment-related education and so encourages active citizenship and personal development as well as fostering investment in Europe’s human capital resources.

Lifelong learning affects all aspects of European higher education - mobility programmes, eLearning, research, vocational education, recognition of qualifications – and is a fundamental objective of the Bruges-Copenhagen Process to enhance cooperation in vocational education and training (VET). The European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF) approved by the EU institutions in April 2008 2007 covers both higher education and VET and aims to facilitate movement between the two.