University and business leaders urged the Swiss government to move towards full participation in Horizon Europe by the end of the year.
The European Parliament reportedly agreed with calls for Switzerland to reapply as a full member in support of the 26.2 billion euro Erasmus+ programme, according to media reports. The Culture and Education Committee intends to state that full membership of Switzerland in Erasmus would be advantageous to both parties in a report to the Parliament on EU-Swiss relations, according to Erudera.com.
Students in Switzerland and other countries, as well as those throughout Europe, have demanded the reintegration of Switzerland into Erasmus, with the Swiss Student Union gathering more than 10,000 signatures in 2020.
The full membership of Switzerland in Erasmus is anticipated to occur as part of a comprehensive package of measures that would further strengthen the relations between the EU and Switzerland, according to Filip Van Depoele, head of the unit for international cooperation at the Commission’s education and culture directorate, who was speaking to Science Business during a meeting of the Parliament committee.
The European Students’ Union (ESU) stated in a press release earlier this year that while global mobility between Europe and other nations is necessary, it is also important to keep in mind the local community. Students shouldn’t be used as “bargaining chips,” according to the Union.
“It is crucial to promote mobility between Europe and the rest of the world without forgetting the immediate neighbourhood: that is why establishing a framework of mobility cooperation Switzerland is paramount, and that needs to be decoupled from non-related political negotiations: students cannot be used as bargaining chips,” the press release reads.
It emphasised Switzerland’s loss as a result of its refusal to participate in Erasmus and claimed that this cost the nation numerous projects between 2014 and 2020.
The union’s demands included finding workable solutions to include Switzerland in Erasmus as a full member and resuming negotiations between the Swiss government and the EU Commission.
After voting in favour of an anti-immigration initiative that opposed EU free movement, Switzerland left Erasmus+ in 2014. Switzerland has continued to participate in the student exchange programme as a partner nation, though, ever since.
In order to ensure that thousands of students can continue their education abroad, Switzerland has since established its student exchange programme.
University and business leaders urged the Swiss government to move towards full participation in Horizon Europe, the EU’s most important programme for research and innovation, by the end of the year.