Universities call for ‘open but risk-aware’ global outlook from EU

Call anticipates European Commission strategy to shape EU’s international research, innovation and education activities

The European Commission’s upcoming internationalisation strategy for research, innovation and education should strike a balance between openness and informed caution in regards to global collaboration, the European University Association has said. Its call comes as EU politics shifts away from focusing primarily on reaching out towards recognising the need for self-protection.

In a position paper it published on 16 March, the EUA called for an EU approach entailing “responsible and reciprocal openness” to global collaboration, saying that openness “is the default principle for universities to solve global challenges [but] needs to be applied responsibly, and with the expectation of reciprocal openness from partners”.