History
The story of EAEVE can only be understood in the context of European integration under the European Union. In the 1970s, although a common European market had been established, many obstacles still stood in the way of completing that project. One major problem was that veterinary course content, duration, and admission requirements varied widely from country to country. As a result, a veterinary surgeon qualified in one Member State often could not freely set up practice or provide services in another. To address this, the European Commission made various attempts, on behalf of the Member States, to harmonise the recognition of diplomas, certificates, and study duration.
In 1978, the European Council adopted two directives and a decision:
- Directive 78/1026/EEC concerned the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in veterinary medicine.
- Directive 78/1027/EEC set common minimum rules for veterinary training, including the subjects to be covered and the duration of courses.
- Decision 78/1028/EEC created an advisory committee to help keep veterinary training at a similarly high standard across the EU and to suggest updates over time.
This decision established the Advisory Committee on Veterinary Training (ACVT), which informed the European Commission on the functioning of the two directives. The committee began with a detailed study of all differences between West European faculties. It concluded that the only path towards comparably high standards of veterinary training in Europe was to let teams of experts visit each faculty and examine its strengths and weaknesses.
The ACVT therefore set up a pilot study from 1986 to 1989, in which it visited at least one university in each Member State of the European Union. Each university wrote a Self-Evaluation Report and was visited by a team of four experts, who wrote a Visitation Report. These reports were then sent to the European Commission. The pilot was deemed successful, and a permanent system was set up in 1990.
During the pilot, the participating faculties decided to found EAEVE in 1988 as an independent association, with standards broader and more in-depth than those of the ACVT. From 1992, the ACVT and EAEVE carried out visitations jointly, each providing two experts. In 1993, the European Commission proposed that EAEVE and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) take over the evaluation system entirely. The EU pledged its continued support for the system once it was run by a European association and helped finance the transition. The FVE also committed to the system, both financially and with personnel. By then, EAEVE’s membership already extended beyond the European Union. At the General Assembly in Madrid in 1993, members decided with near-unanimous support to receive the visitations organised by EAEVE and to do their utmost to comply with the visiting experts’ recommendations. EAEVE thus became responsible for the European system of veterinary evaluation.
The development of EAEVE, from an EU-supported pilot project into a fully operational international association, ran in parallel with the formation of European directives, notably Article 38 of Directive 2005/36/EC, as amended by Directive 2013/55/EU. Although these developments influenced one another, EAEVE matured independently, and by the 1990s its standards already surpassed European legislation in both scope and depth. An overview of the development of the EAEVE standards can be found under SOP.
Below is a timeline of how EAEVE grew from the ambition of one French rector at a Canadian congress into the only international association in Europe dedicated to harmonising educational standards on a continental scale.
- 1988EAEVE is foundedOn 27 May 1988, the heads of 37 veterinary schools from 14 Western European countries met at the École nationale vétérinaire d’Alfort in France. They adopted EAEVE’s statutes and founded the association. Professor Bernard Toma, who called the meeting, became its first President.
- 1990Opening up to Central and Eastern EuropeA few months after the Berlin Wall fell, the General Assembly in Brescia (May 1990) decided to actively bring veterinary faculties from Central and Eastern Europe into EAEVE. A revised Directory was published to welcome the many new members.
- 1992Becoming pan-EuropeanHolding the 1992 General Assembly in Türkiye showed that EAEVE, until then a Western European association, was becoming a pan-European one.
- 1993The European Commission steps backThe European Commission told EAEVE it would stop running the permanent evaluation system itself, and proposed that EAEVE take it over.
- 1994EAEVE takes over the evaluation systemTogether with the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), EAEVE took over the European evaluation system. With 73 member faculties in 31 countries, it became the main body evaluating veterinary education in Europe.
- 2001Joining the Tuning ProjectEAEVE joined the steering committee of the EU’s Tuning Project and set up a Veterinary Sciences group to define the general and subject-specific competences a veterinary degree should give.
- 2004ECCVT is foundedEAEVE, the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation (EBVS) and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) founded the European Coordination Committee for Veterinary Training (ECCVT), so the three could speak with one voice on veterinary education, especially to the European Union when the relevant treaties are revised.
- 2009The Office moves to ViennaAs membership grew, EAEVE’s Office moved to Vienna, Austria, at the heart of the enlarged membership.
- 2009CIQA is createdEAEVE created the Committee on Internal Quality Assurance (CIQA). It checks EAEVE’s own procedures, suggests improvements to how the association works, and advises on quality assurance.
- 2010Students join the General AssemblyStudent representatives from IVSA took part in General Assembly discussions for the first time.
- 2010100 member establishmentsEAEVE reached 100 member establishments and was carrying out more than 10 visitations a year.
- 2011ECOVE reform and voting rightsThe legal status of the European Committee of Veterinary Education (ECOVE) was formalised as the decision-making body EAEVE shares with FVE. Approved establishments gained full voting rights, strengthening the credibility of accreditation, and an associate membership was created.
- 2014First female PresidentProfessor Ana Bravo was appointed EAEVE’s first female President. One focus of her presidency was strengthening EAEVE’s standing as an international association by gaining ENQA accreditation.
- 2018Accredited by ENQAEAEVE became fully accredited by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).
- 2019Three membership tiersEAEVE introduced three membership tiers: Full, Candidate and Associate.
- 2022Russian members suspendedIn response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly suspended EAEVE’s Russian members, the first suspension in the association’s history. The decision is reviewed every year at the General Assembly.