Open letter from the Ukrainian academic community to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union (EU) and each EU Member State
Dear colleagues, on February 24, 2022, at 5:00 am, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, has officially expanded the boundaries of the full-scale invasion and war against Ukraine, which has been going on for the last 8 years. This is a war against the entire democratic civilization, which violates the European peace agreements reached after the Second World War.
Russia's military aggression is not only a threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty, but also a global threat to world order and democratic values, including academic freedom, university autonomy and scientific integrity. The war in Europe is a huge threat to the sustainable development and preservation of the environment of all European countries, not just Ukraine. Just think of the global damage that the Russian-attacked and occupied Chornobyl nuclear power plant could do, all facilities of which, including Shelter, are no longer under surveillance and are not controlled by Ukrainian researchers.
It is time to defend peace and democracy! Today, we cannot imagine further international cooperation with Russian government agencies and universities in the field of higher education and research at the systemic and institutional levels.
We cannot imagine further funding for research and educational projects under EU funds in support of the Russian Federation, in particular:
HEU - Horizon Europe.
Erasmus + - European Commission Programьу on Education, Youth Training and Sport.
ERC - European Research Council.
ITER - International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research.
EEN - European Enterprise Network.
EUREKA - Intergovernmental Organization for the Financing and Coordination of Research and Development.
COST - European cooperation in science and technology.
Initiatives for the use of research infrastructure (XFEL - European X-ray Free Electronic Laser Center, FAIR - Center for Antiproton and Ion Research, ITER - International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, etc.) and others ..
This would be a gross violation of all fundamental academic values and freedoms. We cannot imagine a free academic dialogue and impartial discussions with Russian institutions. Russian universities have not been and will never be independent of the Russian government. They have always followed state Russian propaganda, and there is no room for freedom of speech, research, free teaching and learning.
We call on the European Commission to urgently end all forms of international cooperation with Russian institutions at the systemic and institutional levels, to stop funding research and educational projects implemented with Russian institutions, and to suspend their membership in international organizations until the end of the war. The European Union can no longer provide funding to institutions under the Putin regime if the EU acts on the basis of the declared values set out in the EU's founding treaties.
We call on the European Parliament, which is the heart of the EU, to support Ukrainian scientists in our struggle for the future of education and science, the future of Europe and to take all possible decisions to ban all Russian institutions from accessing EU funds, at least in the near future, in 2021-2027. With the possibility of continuing until peace is secured in Europe and Ukraine.
We call on the Council of the European Union to suspend all international cooperation (bilateral research and educational projects, mobility programmes, other scientific and educational activities) with Russian institutions at the national level until the end of the war. Aggressors and dictators cannot be European partners, and we believe that your nations, which are part of the EU and the UN, understand this much better.
We ask the academic community to show solidarity and fight for academic values and responsible science that cannot serve the war, for the peaceful and stable future of the whole world together with Ukraine.
Signatories: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IIbywNHwOFJU6I9cH5K5r0VGi1SOklcDScIQExi0z-4/edit?usp=sharing