Terri Kim*
11 December 2011 
Issue: 201

The Eurozone crisis seems to be deepening with no sign of clear solutions at the moment. Banks have been advised to make contingency plans for the collapse of the single currency if leaders cannot come up with a last-minute rescue package. "If the euro fails, then Europe fails," warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel. What is happening to higher education during the crisis in Europe?

There are some obvious points to be made. 

First, the crisis in Eurozone is not just a European crisis, but is also entwined with the global financial system. The outlook forecast in the media is that Eurozone cohesion could unravel fast and that austerity, high unemployment, social unrest, high borrowing costs and banking chaos are likely to stay. Clearly, the effects of such a crisis are worth worrying about - but are quite unpredictable.

Second, in Europe policy goals are likely to stay stable in the short term. The European Higher Education Area and European Research Area are bigger than the Eurozone and, therefore, the Eurozone crisis will not necessarily directly affect the vision of Europe 2020 as the world's most competitive knowledge economy.