In light of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the blatant rejection of constructive international cooperation that it represents, I call on the European Commission and Council of the EU to cut off all scientific and research relations with the Russian Federation. This means that I call specifically for:

• the termination, as soon as possible, of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and the Government of the Russian Federation, and all related activities;
• an immediate stop of payments to Russian participants in Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe projects which follow from the cooperation in science and technology, and as soon as possible terminate the participation of Russian entities in the Programme regardless of whether they receive funding or not;

• an emergency update of the 2022 Work Programme of Horizon Europe to exclude the participation of legal entities established in the Union or in associated countries directly or indirectly controlled by Russian entities from all parts of the Programme except the ERC;
• a similar exclusion to be included in the 2023/2024 Work Programmes for Horizon European Parliament;
• the termination of the Russian Federation in any international scientific or research project of which the Union or Member States are part, including ITER and CERN;
• governments of the Member States to also cut all scientific and research relations with the Russian Federation;
  Scientific and research cooperation for the common good is a foundational principle of the European order we as a Group support and cutting all scientific and research ties should be the very last resort in international conflict.

However, the Russian Federation’s extreme violation of the most basic humanitarian and European norms calls for a response that employs all means available, even the last resorts the Union has.

Dr. Christian Ehler MEP