The Bologna Follow Up Group (BFUG) members and consultative members have decided to terminate membership of the Russian Federation and Belarus in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) as of 11 April. The decision was made in the context of the Statement by members and consultive members of the Bologna Follow Up Group on Consequences of the Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine and the Bologna Declaration (1999), which underlines the importance of education and educational cooperation in the development and strengthening of stable, peaceful and democratic societies.

The BFUG members and consultative members are requesting EHEA members and consultative members to undertake, where appropriate and in accordance with their national legislation and policies and the principal of institutional autonomy, the following measures:

• offer support for higher education in Ukraine;
• enable Ukrainian students or potential students to continue or access higher education if they have to flee Ukraine or are unable to return;
• extend such measures beyond the immediate emergency;
• offer refuge and provisional work opportunities for academic staff who have to flee Ukraine or who cannot return;
• extend similar assistance to foreign students and staff who are unable to pursue their studies or work at Ukrainian higher education institutions;
• suspend contact and cooperation with any central government agency of the Russian Federation or any other EHEA country that actively supports the Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine, and to ensure that they only engage in cooperation with organisations and institutions from the Russian Federation where these are clearly based on shared European values; and
• recognise the courage shown by those members of the Russian Federation civil society who are engaging in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in spite of great personal risk, and ask all members and consultative members of the EHEA to offer support and protection to members of the Russian Federation higher education community taking a public stance against the invasion.

The group considers the Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine a fundamental violation of the principles on which the European Higher Education Area was jointly built. The co-signed members and consultative members have asked the Bologna Follow Up Group (BFUG) to suspend the Russian Federation’s rights of participation in all structures and activities of the EHEA, including the BFUG, working groups, task forces, peer learning groups and similar structures. They also asked the BFUG to extend the same measures to Belarus. At the same time, cosignatories asked the BFUG to consider further arrangements and support for higher education in Ukraine.

More information is available here.