The Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention (also known as the Lisbon Recognition Convention) provides the legal framework for academic recognition in Europe, and it serves a double purpose: as a legal text and as a guide to good practice. The ENIC and NARIC Networks promote the implementation of the Convention and seek to develop a better common understanding of recognition issues across the European Region, which also includes some countries outside of geographical Europe. A particular challenge is developing a common understanding of the concept of qualifications, broadly made up of five elements: quality, level, workload, profile and learning outcomes. It is in relation to these elements--and particularly in relation to learning outcomes--that possible substantial differences between qualifications should be assessed. The developing qualifications framework in Europe should facilitate recognition, even if practices still need to develop and better policies need to be developed for the assessment of the increasing number of qualifications not linked to a specific national framework. (Contains 22 notes.)