Commissioner Andor on Swiss participation in Horizon 2020

European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, László Andor, has delivered a speech to the European Parliament on the recent Swiss vote to curb immigration.

Andor told MEPs that “the Swiss Federal Council has informed us that it is still evaluating whether it is in a position to sign the – already negotiated and initialled – protocol extending the free movement of persons agreement to Croatia.”

He added: “The Commission has been crystal clear that we expect this extension as planned, and that we cannot accept different treatments between our member states in this crucial field.”

Andor said that in order to avoid discrimination, the Council of the European Union’s negotiating directives for Swiss participation in Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ link these related agreements to the ‘Croatia Protocol’. Negotiations of these agreements will not go ahead until Switzerland formally concludes the protocol.

The Commissioner explained: “In the absence of an international agreement on determining the conditions for Switzerland’s association to Horizon 2020, Switzerland does not participate in this programme as an associated country. This means that for 2014 calls for proposals participation of Swiss entities will be in accordance with Horizon 2020 provisions governing participation of third country entities.”