The European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages (ECL) was established in 1992 by EU Member States with the aim of creating a uniform language test for the languages of the European Union. Supported initially by the ERASMUS and later the LINGUA programs, the consortium sought to ensure that language certificates would be equivalent and recognized across member states without the need for national validation. Prestigious universities in the home countries of each language handle the professional responsibility of constructing and evaluating the tests. The ECL exams assess oral and written language abilities in various languages, including English, French, German, and many others, based on standardized criteria to maintain comparability and reliability. Extensive research, pilot testing, and a rigorous system of double marking and specialist monitoring ensure the high quality and equivalence of the exams across different languages.