EU suspends Switzerland negotiations on H2020, Erasmus+

The EU has said it has postponed negotiations with Switzerland on the country’s participation in multibillion euro research and educational programmes after a Swiss vote in favour of immigration control.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said that the Swiss vote to impose quotas for migrants from the EU would result in “serious consequences” for relations between Switzerland and the EU. The vote means that Switzerland will be unable to sign a labour agreement with Croatia, the EU’s newest member, on 1 July as had been intended.

The Commission said it had suspended discussions on Swiss participation in Horizon 2020 and the €14.7bn Erasmus+ educational exchange programme. A Commission spokesman said Swiss participation in Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ and the Swiss agreement with Croatia were linked because the EU schemes involved the free movement of researchers and students.

He said: “The protocol (with Croatia) has not been signed yet. Given the circumstances and in the absence of a clear political signal to do so, upcoming negotiation rounds have been postponed until Switzerland signs the protocol.”

The EU has given permission for some non-EU countries to participate in Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+. Under FP7, Swiss researchers were awarded €1.8bn in EU funding for research.