Swiss universities warn of ‘serious consequences’ of Horizon Europe exclusion
Representatives of Swiss universities and businesses have issued a joint resolution urging the government to ensure Switzerland fully participates in the European Union’s flagship Horizon Europe research funding scheme by the end of 2022.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/SonntagsBlick/sb
العربية
ar
جامعات سويسرية تحذر من “عواقب وخيمة” لاستبعاد البلاد من برنامج البحث العلمي الأوروبي
“We are experiencing the first setbacks,” said ETH Board President Michael Hengartner in an interview with the SonntagsBlick newspaper on Sunday.
He is one of the co-signatories of a resolutionExternal link, together with Matthias Leuenberger of scienceindustries, the Swiss business association for the chemical, pharma, life sciences and other science-based industries, and Yves Flückiger of swissuniversities, the universities’ umbrella association, which calls on the government for help to resolve the Horizon Europe crisis.
Researchers and officials at Swiss universities and Swiss industry are worried about Switzerland’s inability to fully participate in the EU’s Horizon programme. This follows Switzerland’s decision in 2021 to pull the plug on a draft treaty binding it more tightly to the bloc hampered access.
The EU reacted by relegating Switzerland to non-associated country status in the Horizon EuropeExternal link programme in 2021, notably cutting off Swiss researchers from funding by the European Commission. Horizon Europe runs from 2021 to 2027 and has an overall budget of €95 billion (CHF98 billion).
This situation has “serious consequences”, the co-signatories wrote in the resolution published on Sunday. Switzerland risks losing ground to other countries and “a substantial weakening of Swiss research and innovation, and a reduction in Switzerland’s economic attractiveness”, the resolution stated.
“Switzerland should expect top researchers and innovative firms to leave Switzerland or no longer come here,” it went on.
Effects of exclusion
The effects of exclusion from Horizon Europe are already being felt in Switzerland, according to officials. Swiss university scientists can no longer lead top European research projects or apply for prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants. Switzerland has also been excluded from participating in leading European space and quantic research projects.
Swiss government officials have repeatedly affirmed that the federal authorities are doing everything possible to solve the problems. In September 2021, the Swiss government announced it would cover research funding shortfalls resulting from the country’s exclusion from EU programmes.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Horizon Europe: Swiss researchers under pressure to relocate or forgo EU grants
This content was published on
Swiss-based researchers who were awarded Horizon Europe's first research grants will need to do their work outside Switzerland in the absence of an agreement with the EU.
Swiss students want more action on European exchanges
This content was published on
The Swiss Student Union has stepped up pressure both at home and internationally for a Swiss return to the Erasmus+ student exchange scheme.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.