The EU-adopted structure of qualifications levels constituting a system for referencing national qualifications frameworks to enable qualifications obtained in different countries to be compared.

The definition reflects the fundamental notion presented in the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008. It also refers to the definition formulated by Cedefop (2008).

European Qualifications Framework is defined by a set of descriptors indicating learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and social competence.