The future relationship between the EU and Switzerland is currently under debate in Brussels once again. This also influences discussions within the EU about options for Swiss participation in the future EU programmes for research, innovation and education, as the EU is trying to streamline its approach to third country participation more generally. In the European Commission’s proposals, Switzerland would fall under the same category as any other third country with which a specific association agreement needs to be negotiated; the terms of which could potentially be more restrictive. Of all countries currently associated to Horizon 2020, Switzerland is, with the UK, the only country falling into this category. Given the engagement of Swiss institutions in the European Research and Higher Education Area in the past decades, there is an argument that Switzerland should able to continue its current association without negotiating from scratch.
The future of EU-Swiss relations
Why this is important: Switzerland is a key partner of the EU in many areas, including research and innovation, and since 2017 has been once again fully associated to the research framework programme Horizon 2020. Presently, universities and businesses, particularly small- and medium-sized companies on both sides, cooperate on many projects. To ensure that this can be continued also in the future programme, Horizon Europe, the EU and Switzerland need to speed up negotiations, and find a way forward, either through a comprehensive agreement or a specific association agreement concluded swiftly after the adoption of the new programme by the EU. The Swiss National Rectors’ Conference, swissuniversities, has recently issued a statement, arguing for accelerating the dialogue between Switzerland and the EU.