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Parliamentary question - E-004182/2014Parliamentary question
E-004182/2014

Switzerland's exclusion from the ‘Horizon 2020’ and ‘Erasmus +’ programmes

Question for written answer E-004182-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Anne Delvaux (PPE)

Following Switzerland’s vote to limit mass immigration on 9 February of this year, the EU decided to suspend Swiss participation in European research and academic exchange programmes. If we are not actually able to reach a compromise on free movement within the EU and with other partner countries, then it is nevertheless regrettable that the sanction, which is targeted at Switzerland, affects scientific cooperation and education.

Our universities and other higher education institutions are very concerned about the negative consequences of these decisions, because the scientific and academic collaboration undertaken with their Swiss counterparts involves programmes of excellence, and the quality of the Swiss institutions plays a part in our own universities’ pursuit of scientific excellence.

There is a significant risk that the quality of our scientific research will suffer on account of these decisions and that Switzerland will seek out other countries and regions of the world with which to collaborate in future. Therefore, can the Commission state the reasons why the measures taken by the EU relate to the sectors of scientific cooperation and education?

If the answer was of a financial nature, a number of Swiss institutions have already announced that they are able to finance their participation in European research projects themselves. So why should they simply be excluded?

Are there no other bilateral agreements with Switzerland that we could look at that would cause less damage to our universities and research centres?

OJ C 375, 22/10/2014