On 16 April the Swiss Federal Council approved an interim solution to compensate for the country’s loss of the 'programme country' status EU programmes. The solution, in particular with regard to mobility activities, adheres as far as possible to the Erasmus+ requirements applicable for all European countries, with a view to renewing association to the programme. Costs will be covered by the budget originally allocated for Switzerland's participation in Erasmus+ in 2014 as a programme country, with the amount of CHF 22.7 million (EUR 18.6 million).

Mobility will be given high priority, particularly mobility in higher education, with a large part of the available funding going to this area (CHF 15 million/EUR 12.3 million). Another prioritised area is vocational education and training with the budget of CHF 3.8 million (EUR 3.12 million). Mobility in schools will have to do with CHF 0.3 million (EUR 0.25 million), youth work projects with CHF 0.9 million (EUR 0.74 million), while the budget for adult education is the lowest with CHF 0.2 million (EUR 0.16 million) dedicated for this year. 

The budget allocated to project activities is considerably smaller than the amount set for full association to Erasmus+. The interim solution has its limitations but as such represents an attempt to provide a framework for planned projects and ensure Swiss participants some kind of continuity until negotiations with the EU reach a better solution than the current one. 

The Federal Council will also draw up an interim solution on Horizon 2020 at a later stage, as soon as the situation with the EU is clear, it is stated. 

Press release