>__If Switzerland wants a more concrete protection mechanism for the free movement of persons, it must grant the EU full freedom of movement for students. This is what the EU Commission is demanding, according to research by SRF. Higher university fees for students from the EU would therefore not be possible.__
>How to develop relations with the EU? This is one of the most sensitive political issues in Bern. Next Wednesday, the Federal Council wants to discuss the results of the negotiations between the Swiss negotiators and the EU.
>Research by SRF now shows that a new problem has emerged in the final metres of negotiations: The EU is bothered by higher university fees for students from the EU area and is demanding full freedom of movement for students. Otherwise, the EU does not want to make any further concessions on the free movement of persons.
>Over 30,000 students from the EU attend lectures at Swiss universities. That is around 18 per cent of students. At most universities, they do not pay more fees than Swiss students. One exception is the University of St. Gallen, for example, which already has higher fees for foreign students.
>However, ETH Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne are now also planning to increase their fees. From the autumn semester of 2025, foreign students will pay three times more than Swiss students. This is the ETH Board’s response to pressure from the Swiss Confederation: a majority in parliament is demanding higher fees for students from abroad.
>However, the EU headquarters in Brussels is not happy about higher university fees. As research by SRF shows, the EU is demanding full freedom of movement for students from Switzerland. In the ongoing negotiations on the further development of the bilateral agreements, the EU is now even linking the issue of students with the entire free movement of persons.
>>__The question of students becomes the decisive sticking point__
>>Assessment by Andreas Reich, SRF Brussels correspondent: “The issue of students is becoming a crucial sticking point in the final metres of negotiations. Several sources here in Brussels confirm this. A clear picture is emerging: If Switzerland still wants to extract substantial concessions from the EU on immigration, it would have to treat students from the EU the same as those from Switzerland in future. For Swiss universities, this would mean that higher fees for students from the EU would no longer be an option.”
>The ETH Board did not wish to comment on the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU when asked by SRF. The association of Swiss universities, Swissuniversities, stated that the negotiations are still ongoing.
>Bernese education politician and member of the Council of States Flavia Wasserfallen (SP/BE) did not think that higher fees for students from abroad were a good idea from the outset. “If ETH wants to be a global leader, then it also needs foreign talent,” says Wasserfallen. “These talents should come because they are good and not because they have a big wallet.”
>For SVP foreign policy expert and party leadership member Franz Grüter, however, the EU’s new demands are unacceptable. He is generally opposed to new bilateral agreements with the EU. “Parliament recently decided to increase fees for foreign students,” Grüter states. It is unacceptable that the EU wants to change this. “I am amazed that the Federal Council is not consistently saying that we do not accept this,” criticises Grüter.
>>__”New target for opponents of a new EU treaty”__
>>Assessment by Andy Müller, SRF parliamentary editor: “The Federal Council must think very carefully about whether it wants to agree to the free movement of students with the EU. This would give opponents of a new treaty with the EU another target to attack. Without the free movement of students, however, the Federal Council will hardly achieve a protective mechanism for the free movement of persons. Another of many dilemmas in the tricky negotiations with the EU, which according to the timetable should be finalised by the end of the year.”
>However, the position of the Federal Council is not yet known. It is possible that the state government will also discuss the issue of EU students in greater depth next Wednesday.
Unless the EU take Switzerland back in (full) Erasmus and EU sciences project, they can go fuck themselves.
That‘s interesting, I’m usually in favour of more students over most anyone else (except the very highly skilled). It would be interesting to see what the fee percentages are. I wonder if this would lead to ETH/others taking more non-EU students to pay more the higher fees?
CH should only accept students in fields that are in high demand by local businesses. There is zero sense in financing through my taxes the expensive tertiary education of a EU student in things like arts or psychology and other fields that don’t lead to employment, and those students will likely leave the country
I am a bit confused, what does freedom of movement mean? Staying here longer without permit?
“Für SVP-Aussenpolitiker und Parteileitungsmitglied Franz Grüter sind die neuen Forderungen der EU hingegen inakzeptabel. Er lehnt neue bilaterale Verträge mit der EU generell ab. «Das Parlament hat vor kurzem entschieden, dass für ausländische Studierende die Gebühren erhöht werden», hält Grüter fest. Es sei nicht hinnehmbar, dass die EU dies ändern möchte. «Ich staune, dass der Bundesrat hier nicht konsequent sagt, das akzeptieren wir nicht», kritisiert Grüter. ”
I’m not a fan of his party, but he is right in this case, we should tell the European Union to go f*ck themselves. It’s none of their business.
I mean fees in other countries for good universities are much higher than in Switzerland where students pay like 600chf a semester. UK unis for UK citizen is 9000, even in Italy the best unis cost over 10k why wouldn’t EPFL and ETH who are considered some of the best unis in the world not increase their fees? Not talking about 10k but even tripling 600 wouldn’t be “that much” for the level of education you receive.
Why should we pay for EU students?
Can we stop letting right wingers make foreign policy? It’s unbearable…
Get your asses together and sign this god damn political framework (Rahmenvertrag) treaty so we can focus our foreign politics on what we actually can, like supporting negotiations between conflict parties, instead of pretending we, as a 10M people nation, are equally important as the 450M EU.
Charge 10k fees so we can charge Europeans and find some way to funnel the money back to the kids.
Like a 30k reward for passing Matura or whatever.
No problem, we say yes
EU trying to mind business inside its own borders: challenge impossible.
As an expat, I can say without being called racist that the EU is a cancer. It was created to take care of free trade and it should have stuck with that. I don’t know how from there we went to filling a huge building in Bruxelles with special needs adults, and pretending that what they say makes sense.
It is already hard for a swiss person to study in Switzerland lol
I studied in the EPFL, had to compete with 50-300 people for a shared appartement in Lausanne. Ended up doing my BsC doing 3-4 hours of commute a week, which was quite not fun.
Having already lot of foreigners in a class, you already have a worldwide competition.
I think in the ETHZ it’s quite the same thing, Zurich being even more expensive than Lausanne
If you want to study medicine, you gotta have parents who can pay you to live in the most expensive cities in the world (I mean working half-time while studying medicine puts you quite in a disadvantage in a higly competitive field already).
Anyways, I am never fond of this idea of having to compete with the best of Europe who lived in a fcked up country and would do anything to do in Switzerland, this being when you are a student, but in your career too as you see job opportunities you could have being taken by people from the other side of Europe.
I think it will become more and more a problem. Not really for me as I’m well set in my career, but when I see younger people who have finished their studies and are struggling to find a job, and when you post a job online and you have hundred of overqualified people from everywhere in Europe with absolutely 0 standard of quality of life of salary (and you have no legal incentive to prefer swiss people), poor, poor them
Ok, we could even bring fees down to zero and make all the universities hyper selective. Switzerland easily could turbocharge its research by poaching the best students and denying the rest.
14 comments
Translation:
>__If Switzerland wants a more concrete protection mechanism for the free movement of persons, it must grant the EU full freedom of movement for students. This is what the EU Commission is demanding, according to research by SRF. Higher university fees for students from the EU would therefore not be possible.__
>How to develop relations with the EU? This is one of the most sensitive political issues in Bern. Next Wednesday, the Federal Council wants to discuss the results of the negotiations between the Swiss negotiators and the EU.
>Research by SRF now shows that a new problem has emerged in the final metres of negotiations: The EU is bothered by higher university fees for students from the EU area and is demanding full freedom of movement for students. Otherwise, the EU does not want to make any further concessions on the free movement of persons.
>Over 30,000 students from the EU attend lectures at Swiss universities. That is around 18 per cent of students. At most universities, they do not pay more fees than Swiss students. One exception is the University of St. Gallen, for example, which already has higher fees for foreign students.
>However, ETH Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne are now also planning to increase their fees. From the autumn semester of 2025, foreign students will pay three times more than Swiss students. This is the ETH Board’s response to pressure from the Swiss Confederation: a majority in parliament is demanding higher fees for students from abroad.
>However, the EU headquarters in Brussels is not happy about higher university fees. As research by SRF shows, the EU is demanding full freedom of movement for students from Switzerland. In the ongoing negotiations on the further development of the bilateral agreements, the EU is now even linking the issue of students with the entire free movement of persons.
>>__The question of students becomes the decisive sticking point__
>>Assessment by Andreas Reich, SRF Brussels correspondent: “The issue of students is becoming a crucial sticking point in the final metres of negotiations. Several sources here in Brussels confirm this. A clear picture is emerging: If Switzerland still wants to extract substantial concessions from the EU on immigration, it would have to treat students from the EU the same as those from Switzerland in future. For Swiss universities, this would mean that higher fees for students from the EU would no longer be an option.”
>The ETH Board did not wish to comment on the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU when asked by SRF. The association of Swiss universities, Swissuniversities, stated that the negotiations are still ongoing.
>Bernese education politician and member of the Council of States Flavia Wasserfallen (SP/BE) did not think that higher fees for students from abroad were a good idea from the outset. “If ETH wants to be a global leader, then it also needs foreign talent,” says Wasserfallen. “These talents should come because they are good and not because they have a big wallet.”
>For SVP foreign policy expert and party leadership member Franz Grüter, however, the EU’s new demands are unacceptable. He is generally opposed to new bilateral agreements with the EU. “Parliament recently decided to increase fees for foreign students,” Grüter states. It is unacceptable that the EU wants to change this. “I am amazed that the Federal Council is not consistently saying that we do not accept this,” criticises Grüter.
>>__”New target for opponents of a new EU treaty”__
>>Assessment by Andy Müller, SRF parliamentary editor: “The Federal Council must think very carefully about whether it wants to agree to the free movement of students with the EU. This would give opponents of a new treaty with the EU another target to attack. Without the free movement of students, however, the Federal Council will hardly achieve a protective mechanism for the free movement of persons. Another of many dilemmas in the tricky negotiations with the EU, which according to the timetable should be finalised by the end of the year.”
>However, the position of the Federal Council is not yet known. It is possible that the state government will also discuss the issue of EU students in greater depth next Wednesday.
Unless the EU take Switzerland back in (full) Erasmus and EU sciences project, they can go fuck themselves.
That‘s interesting, I’m usually in favour of more students over most anyone else (except the very highly skilled). It would be interesting to see what the fee percentages are. I wonder if this would lead to ETH/others taking more non-EU students to pay more the higher fees?
CH should only accept students in fields that are in high demand by local businesses. There is zero sense in financing through my taxes the expensive tertiary education of a EU student in things like arts or psychology and other fields that don’t lead to employment, and those students will likely leave the country
I am a bit confused, what does freedom of movement mean? Staying here longer without permit?
“Für SVP-Aussenpolitiker und Parteileitungsmitglied Franz Grüter sind die neuen Forderungen der EU hingegen inakzeptabel. Er lehnt neue bilaterale Verträge mit der EU generell ab. «Das Parlament hat vor kurzem entschieden, dass für ausländische Studierende die Gebühren erhöht werden», hält Grüter fest. Es sei nicht hinnehmbar, dass die EU dies ändern möchte. «Ich staune, dass der Bundesrat hier nicht konsequent sagt, das akzeptieren wir nicht», kritisiert Grüter. ”
I’m not a fan of his party, but he is right in this case, we should tell the European Union to go f*ck themselves. It’s none of their business.
I mean fees in other countries for good universities are much higher than in Switzerland where students pay like 600chf a semester. UK unis for UK citizen is 9000, even in Italy the best unis cost over 10k why wouldn’t EPFL and ETH who are considered some of the best unis in the world not increase their fees? Not talking about 10k but even tripling 600 wouldn’t be “that much” for the level of education you receive.
Why should we pay for EU students?
Can we stop letting right wingers make foreign policy? It’s unbearable…
Get your asses together and sign this god damn political framework (Rahmenvertrag) treaty so we can focus our foreign politics on what we actually can, like supporting negotiations between conflict parties, instead of pretending we, as a 10M people nation, are equally important as the 450M EU.
Charge 10k fees so we can charge Europeans and find some way to funnel the money back to the kids.
Like a 30k reward for passing Matura or whatever.
No problem, we say yes
EU trying to mind business inside its own borders: challenge impossible.
As an expat, I can say without being called racist that the EU is a cancer. It was created to take care of free trade and it should have stuck with that. I don’t know how from there we went to filling a huge building in Bruxelles with special needs adults, and pretending that what they say makes sense.
It is already hard for a swiss person to study in Switzerland lol
I studied in the EPFL, had to compete with 50-300 people for a shared appartement in Lausanne. Ended up doing my BsC doing 3-4 hours of commute a week, which was quite not fun.
Having already lot of foreigners in a class, you already have a worldwide competition.
I think in the ETHZ it’s quite the same thing, Zurich being even more expensive than Lausanne
If you want to study medicine, you gotta have parents who can pay you to live in the most expensive cities in the world (I mean working half-time while studying medicine puts you quite in a disadvantage in a higly competitive field already).
Anyways, I am never fond of this idea of having to compete with the best of Europe who lived in a fcked up country and would do anything to do in Switzerland, this being when you are a student, but in your career too as you see job opportunities you could have being taken by people from the other side of Europe.
I think it will become more and more a problem. Not really for me as I’m well set in my career, but when I see younger people who have finished their studies and are struggling to find a job, and when you post a job online and you have hundred of overqualified people from everywhere in Europe with absolutely 0 standard of quality of life of salary (and you have no legal incentive to prefer swiss people), poor, poor them
Ok, we could even bring fees down to zero and make all the universities hyper selective. Switzerland easily could turbocharge its research by poaching the best students and denying the rest.
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