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EHEA BFUG Statement on consequences of Russian invasion to Ukraine

EHEA members: Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Malta, Netherlands, Norway and EHEA consultative members: Council of Europe, European Students’ Union, European University Association made a statement.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine – an EHEA member since 2005 – disregards the values and goals of the EHEA and fundamentally violates all the obligations and commitments Russia has undertaken since it joined the EHEA in 2003. It has also undermined the trust that is fundamental to European higher education cooperation. For Russia to regain the trust of other EHEA members will be a long and difficult process”.

The authors of the statement appealed to all members of the EHEA to support higher education in Ukraine, students and academia from Ukraine, to provide opportunities to study and teach abroad to those who were forced to flee Ukraine. They also called on all members and advisory members of the EHEA to “cease contact and cooperation with any central government agency of Russia or any other country that actively supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to ensure that they only engage in cooperation with organizations and institutions from Russia where these are clearly based on shared European values.”

“We consider the Russian invasion of Ukraine a fundamental violation of the principles on which we have together built the European Higher Education Area. We therefore ask the Bologna Follow Up Group (BFUG) to suspend Russia’s rights of representation in all structures and activities of the EHEA, including the BFUG, working groups, task forces, peer learning groups and similar structures. We ask the BFUG to extend the same measures to any EHEA member States who may assist Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, we ask the BFUG to consider further arrangements and support for higher education in Ukraine”, – the statement said.

Full text of the statement.