The Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) released a press release on 4 January about the exclusion of Switzerland out of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). According to Hans Rudolf Ott, Chairperson of the Round Table on Swiss Representation in International Organisations and Research Infrastructures (RoTIORI), organised by the SCNAT, Switzerland has lost an important means of contributing to the shaping of the European research landscape as a result of this decision, particularly in the field of major infrastructures. RoTIORI now expects pragmatic solutions to be developed in the interest of the European research landscape.
ScienceIBusiness reported about it the day after: Switzerland kicked out of European research infrastructure coordination body | Science|Business (sciencebusiness.net)
Few days later, several European research leaders commented on the absurdity of excluding Switzerland and the UK out of ESFRI in an addition ScienceIBusiness article: European research leaders shocked at Swiss expulsion from European research infrastructure body | Science|Business (sciencebusiness.net)
John Wood, a former ESFRI chair, said the decision to expel Switzerland was “absurd” and seemed almost “spiteful”.
Read all comments from research commissioner Mariya Gabriel, current ESFRI’s chair Jana Kolar and former director general of research and innovation Robert-Jan Smits in the full article.