Foreign Universities In Greece – A New Landscape

For the first time, Greece has passed a new educational law allowing foreign universities to establish and operate branch campuses in the country. This major educational reform removes the barriers on the operation of private universities in Greece and brings the country in line with other EU member states. Under this new framework, Greece aims to internationalise its higher education, attracting foreign students to Greece, reducing the flow of young Greeks studying abroad, and supporting research and innovation nationally and in the southeast part of Europe.

In this article colleagues at Kelemenis & Co in Greece summarise the latest reform in Greek higher education.

The establishment and operation of branch campuses of foreign universities in Greece

Greek Law allows foreign public or private higher educational institutions (“parent institution”) to establish and operate branch campuses in Greece as of the academic year 2025-2026. Previous legislative arrangements had allowed the collaboration under a franchise scheme of foreign universities with Greek private educational organisations operating as agents. Such partnerships were intended to secure occupational/vocational rights for graduates rather than granting university-level degrees (equivalent to those of Greek state universities) to them. This new legislation is a major shift in Greek educational policy, as it is the first time that Greece will grant university status to foreign higher educational institutions operating in the country. In doing so, the new legislation circumvents the restriction of art. 16 of the Greek Constitution, which prohibits the establishment of private universities in Greece. Alongside the EU principles of the freedom of establishment and the free movement of persons and services, the law allows the establishment and operation of branch campuses of already existing public or private higher educational institutions as an equivalent alternative to Greek state universities. Interestingly, the law has capitalised on the 2020 judgment in Case C-66/18 (“Commission v Hungary”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Eligibility

The law allows foreign higher educational institutions to establish and operate branch campuses in Greece and offer degrees at all levels of higher education (i.e. undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral), provided that the Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports (the “ministry”) approves their establishment and operation. To be eligible a foreign higher educational institution must:

• have its seat and operate within the EU or a GATS member country;
• offer programmes across all three higher education cycles, including at least one programme of undergraduate higher education;
• be recognised in its country; and
• be listed in the national register of recognised foreign higher education institutions by the Hellenic National Academic Recognition and Information Center (the “Hellenic NARIC”: https://mitroa.doatap.gr/?locale=en).

Form of Presence in Greece

Greek branch campuses must be set up in the form of special purpose, non-profit legal entities. They need to have their own legal personality and their sole and exclusive purpose must be that of granting higher education degrees in Greece. The parent institution must exercise control over the branch campus through either:

• majority equity in the legal entity and majority voting rights in the management bodies operating the branch campus; or
• an educational agreement between the parent institution and the branch campus.

If the parent institution goes for the latter option, it may opt not to be a shareholder of the legal entity operating the branch campus, or may merely be a minority shareholder. Nonetheless, the terms and conditions of the educational agreement should ensure that the parent institution controls the operation of the branch campus despite the fact it does not have control over the decision making of the operating legal entity. Effectively, the educational agreement needs to be a carefully-drafted document for the purposes of both compliance and substance.

Funding Sources

The law provides a variety of funding sources available for branch campuses in Greece, including:

• real estate transactions;
• business agreements;
• donations, grants, contributions on movable or immovable property financed by private financial instruments; and
• lending and investing, if the money to be invested is not required for meeting its immediate needs.

Branch campuses and their shareholders are expected to choose the right funding model, considering applicable Greek tax rules on non-profit legal entities. The branch campus will be liable for its own debts, cannot distribute profits and will be subject to an annual audit of its financial statements by a certified auditor/accountant appointed by the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports (the “minister”).

Land and Infrastructure Requirements

Branch campuses must be located in self-contained buildings and must have the necessary infrastructure (e.g. library, laboratory and research areas, audiovisual multimedia facilities).

Application process and criteria for review

The parent institution must submit the application to the ministry with the required supporting documentation that includes the following:

• a declaration of intention to establish and operate a branch campus in Greece;
• a draft of the educational agreement (if applicable);
• the establishment of at least three faculties, each offering at least one undergraduate programme (or one faculty with at least one programme at any level if the parent institution ranks in the top 20 of international university rankings);
• a bank guarantee/bond of €2,000,000 for the application; if the campus is to be located outside the Attica Region and outside the Thessaloniki Regional Unit, the bond is reduced by 50%, i.e. to €1,000,000; for any additional faculty beyond the standard minimum of three (or beyond the one faculty if the parent institution ranks in the top 20 of international university rankings), the above bond is increased by €500,000 per additional faculty;
• a fee of €600,000 for the licensing of one to three faculties; if the branch campus is to be located outside the Attica Region and outside the Thessaloniki Regional Unit, the fee is reduced by 50%, i.e. to €300,000;
• the urban planning permits;
• the Internal Rules of the Branch’s operation;
• the programme structure (i.e. offered courses, duration, faculty, fees, scholarships etc.);
• the criteria and the number of eligible students;
• the number of administrative and technical staff;
• the branch’s research activity;
• a five-year business plan;
• a quality assurance strategic plan; and
• an impact study (the outline of which is set out in the law).

The designated authorities must review the documentation within 120 days from the submission of the application, provided the application concerns the establishment and operation of up to five faculties. For each request beyond five faculties, the 120-day deadline is extended for up to an additional 20 days.

If the authorities decide that all requirements are met, the minister will issue a decision granting the parent institution a licence to establish and operate a branch campus in Greece. If the parent institution is established outside the EU, the opinion of the minister of Foreign Affairs is required before the licence is issued. Τhe ministry has discretion when granting a licence. According to art. 139.3 of the law, the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education (“HAHE”) must assess compliance with art. 137 of the law and the National Strategy for Higher Education (the “strategy”), the latest version of which is expected to be issued in early 2025. Until the strategy is finalised, the HAHE will assess the impact of each branch campus on Greek higher education, considering a number of factors indicated in the law. While the law sets no limit on the number of licenses to be issued, the number of branch campuses is likely to impact the HAHE’s assessment.

Course requirements

The parent institution has full autonomy in respect of programmes and courses to be offered at its branch campus in Greece, provided the courses offered:

• are recognised by the parent institution; and
• are certified by the National Organisation for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance in accordance with applicable national standards and the EU Guidelines on quality assurance in higher education.

Admission requirements

The following are eligible for admission to a branch campus’s undergraduate programmes:

• Greek or foreign citizens holding a general or vocational upper secondary school certificate who participate in the national exams for studying in a Greek public university, and holders of equivalent high school certificates issued by recognised foreign schools operating in Greece;
• holders of international high school certificates awarded by national or foreign schools; and
• foreign citizens holding a general or vocational high school certificate that grants them the right to enter into a higher education institution in their home country.

Holders of high school certificates issued before the academic year 2021-2022 and bachelor’s degree holders will be eligible for admission to a branch campus according to the terms and requirements set by the parent institution. Postgraduate and doctoral programmes will be open to holders of recognised bachelor’s degrees issued by Greek public universities or by recognised foreign universities.

Fee structures

Branch campuses have autonomy to decide their own tuition fee structure. However, they are obliged to award merit and social criteria-based scholarships (based on the individual or family financial situation of students) to at least 10% of students per academic year.

Faculty

Faculty for Greek campuses will be recruited in line with the recruitment rules of the parent institution. The minister will approve the criteria for their appointment and promotion. In addition, the law requires:

• at least 90% of faculty to be PhD holders in a subject related to the academic area; and
• the number of faculty to be at least thirty.

Grant of Degrees and Equivalence

Students who successfully complete a study programme will receive a degree issued by the parent institution. Interestingly, these degrees need not go through a recognition process, unlike the degrees of the parent institution’s graduates outside Greece which are subject to academic recognition requirements.

Conclusion

This higher education reform brings Greece in line with other EU countries that allow the operation of both public and private universities. Branch campuses are expected to attract foreign students to Greece, reduce the flow of young Greeks studying abroad, and support research and innovation. At the same time, it will be interesting to see whether the Council of State, Greece’s supreme administrative court, finds the law in line with the Greek Constitution, and how the Greek government will respond to the potential political pressure and protests from students opposed to the legislative reform.

To date, some foreign universities have already taken steps to enter into the new educational sector. For example, the Hellenic Competition Commission has already approved the establishment of the first private medical school in Athens, which is a collaboration between the University of Nicosia and CVC Capital Partners.

If your institution is interested to explore opportunities for the establishment and operation of a branch campus in Greece, SHMA, alongside our colleagues in Greece, will be pleased to give advice and assistance on the legal and practical implications of the new educational framework, including corporate governance, tax, and employment issues. In addition, we could support when incorporating the branch campus, drafting the educational agreement, submitting the licensing application to the Greek Ministry of Education, conducting due diligence and, in general, in all steps of branch campus’s licensing procedure.