This contribution looks critically at the achievements regarding the Bologna action line "European cooperation in quality assurance". Much has been realised but most of the visible achievements are at the supranational level: the development of the European Standards and Guidelines, the launch of the European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies, and the establishment of the Register of European Higher Education Quality Assurance Agencies. Despite these positive developments, we argue that there may have been too much stress on compliance to rigid procedures and mechanisms, at the cost of a focus on quality improvement and the student learning experience.