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EUA suspends membership of 12 Russian universities following statement by university leaders


07 March 2022

The Russian Union of Rectors (RUR) has issued a statement (in Russian), which supports the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. The European University Association (EUA) Board has therefore taken the decision to suspend the membership of those universities whose leaders have signed this statement, as it is diametrically opposed to the European values that they committed to when joining EUA. These 12 universities will remain suspended from EUA until such time as they are once again compliant with European values.


As set out in its recent Statement on Ukraine, EUA condemns the aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. It advises member universities to ensure on a case-by-case basis that continuation of education and research collaborations with Russian academics remains appropriate at this time, using national and European-level policy guidance to assess this – recognising that many partnerships are based on peer-to-peer relationships and that many Russian academics have spoken out against this invasion, at great personal risk.

Update as of 23 March: the leaders of two further Russian universities from EUA’s membership have indicated their support for the Russian Union of Rectors’ statement. The EUA Board suspended their membership on 22 March, bringing the total number of suspended EUA members in the Russian Federation to 14.

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