Swiss elected chair of top European research universities group

Yves Flückiger, seen here in an archive picture from 2018 © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

University of Geneva Rector Yves Flückiger has been elected chair of the League of European Research Universities (LERU). The move comes at a time of uncertainty over Switzerland's future in the European research funding programme Horizon Europe.

“I am pleased and honoured to take on the role of LERU Chair,” said Flückiger, who is also president of the swissuniversities, the sector’s umbrella body, in a statement on SaturdayExternal link.

“Over the past two decades, LERUExternal link has done outstanding work to advance the interests of frontier research, innovation, and education in Europe, and I fully intend to continue doing so, notwithstanding the many challenges currently facing it both inside and outside Europe,” he added.

Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary General of LERU, which is made up of 23 universities –including Oxford and Cambridge, as well as the Swiss universities of Zurich and Geneva – also welcomed the election. “I am very much looking forward to continuing the collaboration with Yves and to further advocating for the association of Switzerland and the UK to Horizon Europe with a Swiss LERU Chair,” he said in the statement.

Horizon Europe issue

Switzerland is currently locked out of the European Union’s €95 billion (CHF 98 billion) Horizon Europe research funding programme – the largest of its kind worldwide – having been relegated to non-associated status. This followed Switzerland’s decision in 2021 to pull the plug on a draft treaty binding it more tightly to the European bloc.

The non-EU country had been an associated member in the previous programme, Horizon 2020, allowing Swiss researchers to benefit from grants and access to prestigious scientific projects.

The official Swiss position is that an association to Horizon Europe and related programmes remains the government’s goal. But the European Commission has indicated that it is not able to discuss the next steps towards exploratory talks and negotiations at this point, according to the latest Swiss update on the situationExternal link.

On May 4External link, the Swiss government announced that it had adopted “extensive measures” to bridge the financial gap for researchers arising from the Horizon Europe situation, following on from measures taken in 2021.

The Swiss research world has repeatedly warned of “serious consequences” if the country continues to be excluded from the top table of EU research.