Adoption of the initiative against mass immigration and its impact on future cooperation in research and education

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 09:53:16 +0100

The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) provides regular updates on the impact of the adoption of the initiative against mass immigration on future cooperation in research and education between Switzerland and the EU.

Basically, the facts as of 17 Feb 2014 are: The bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the EU regarding Switzerland's participation as an associated state in the EU's 7th Framework Programme (FP) remains unconditionally valid until all projects under FP7 have run their course. The funding by the European Commission of Swiss project holders in FP7 is assured until the end of the research project.

Negotiations with the EU with regard to H2020 and Erasmus+ association, which were at an advanced stage, are currently suspended following adoption of the initiative; the EU cites the principle of the free movement of persons as a key element of the bilateral agreements and is waiting to see how Switzerland proceeds in terms of extending the freedom of movement to Croatia.

For more information please refer to the SERI website.