European higher education debate often gives the impression that there is widespread general agreement about the challenges faced in higher education, and that the construction of a European Higher Education Area will be achieved through finding technical solutions to today's problems. This contribution will question whether this coherent vision of the development of a European higher education area matches reality, and whether in the future European citizens can really look forward to a rosy future of high quality flexible lifelong learning in a language and country of their choice. Between the rhetoric and the reality, an attempt will be made to offer some pragmatic suggestions for future policy.