For many years there has been a debate about the existence or not, of a common European education policy. In this article I argue that there has been a real European education policy since the approval of the Maastricht Treaty, with a proper content and which offers many new possibilities to students. The core of this policy is the setting up of the European Higher Education Area, designed not only for attendance-based universities, but also for distance and virtual universities. However, the policies, expected to be in force by 2010, have not been without problems and a critique of the implications for European higher education institutes is offered following an outline of the development and evolution of the policies.