The ETH Board welcomes the development of stable relations between Switzerland and the EU, which will ensure beneficial conditions for the institutions of the ETH Domain and the entire Swiss research and education landscape. The overall Bilaterals III package extends the principle of free movement of persons, which enables Switzerland to attract the most talented researchers and the staff needed to ensure the smooth running of its research and education institutions. Moreover, Switzerland’s association with the European programmes Horizon Europe, Euratom, ITER and Digital Europe strengthens advanced international scientific and industrial cooperation, while Erasmus+ offers students and participants in the education and youth sectors opportunities to collaborate at EU level and to develop the intercultural skills that are in demand on the employment market. Finally, participation in the health research programme (currently EU4Health) will also enable Switzerland to develop collaborations in the field of crisis preparedness, thus benefiting research, the economy and the Swiss population.
The initialling of the agreement on the EU programmes, which took place on 2 April, means that retroactive association with Horizon Europe, Euratom and Digital Europe should be possible as of 1 January 2025 once the agreement is signed, which is due to take place in November 2025. The ETH Board welcomes this milestone achievement.
The ETH Board is accordingly pleased that association with the EU programmes is progressing in line with the Swiss government’s objectives and that, thanks to the transitional arrangement, Swiss researchers and innovators can currently participate in almost all Horizon Europe and Euratom calls for projects, as well as in some Digital Europe calls.
The ETH Board supports the continuation of bilateral relations with the European Union through Bilaterals III, in order to guarantee Switzerland’s long-term association with the EU programmes. The international cooperations offered by the European programmes are of prime importance to the ETH Domain.
The EU Programmes Agreement (EUPA) governs Switzerland’s participation in the EU programmes, namely Horizon Europe, Euratom, ITER, Digital Europe, Erasmus+ and EU4Health. The agreement on the EU programmes will only come into force once the overall Switzerland-EU package has been ratified. It can however be applied retrospectively, enabling Switzerland’s provisional association with Horizon Europe, the Euratom programme and the Digital Europe programme to enter into force with retroactive effect as of 2025, and that with ITER and Erasmus+ to commence in 2026 and 2027 respectively. For this to happen, the agreement must be signed by November 2025, i.e. before the signing of the remaining elements of the overall Switzerland-EU package. The EUPA nevertheless remains an integral part of the package in terms of ratification procedures. See press release of 2 April: Switzerland and EU initial agreement on programmes.
