1. Where the applicant is in possession of a diploma or qualification issued by an education establishment established in a Member State, that Member State shall be responsible for examining the application for international protection, provided that the application is registered less than six years after the diploma or qualification was issued.

2. Where the applicant is in possession of more than one diploma or qualification issued by education establishments in different Member States, the responsibility for examining the application for international protection shall be assumed by the Member State which issued the diploma or qualification following the longest period of study or, where the periods of study are identical, by the Member State in which the most recent diploma or qualification was obtained.