Barcelona, 14 September 2023. In the framework of the 2nd Forum of European University Alliances, Crue’s President Eva Alcón and the President of Crue-Internationalisation and Cooperation and rector of UNED, Ricardo Mairal, met with representatives of France Universités and the Spanish Ministry of Universities to seek formulas to help boost the participation of both university systems in the European Universities Initiative. The aim is to increase the number of consortia in which Spanish and French universities jointly participate, which is currently more than 30, out of a total of 50 European university alliances.
The delegation of France Universités was led by its President and Rector of the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Guillaume Gellé, accompanied by the President of its European and International Relations Commission and Rector of the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, Emmanuelle Garnier, and by the association’s delegate in Brussels, Carle Bonafous. During this first meeting, they discussed the promotion of institutional collaboration through the signing of a memorandum of understanding and stressed the importance of developing and strengthening the European dimension of university communities, involving them even more in Europe through European values and the European way of life. The opportunity to organise a bilateral meeting between the standing committees or management teams of the two associations to discuss possible lines of collaboration in university missions (teaching, research, and knowledge transfer) and in all matters related to academic freedom was also discussed.
Subsequently, the Secretary General of the Spanish Ministry of Universities, José Manuel Pingarrón, and the Deputy Director of International Relations and Collegiate Bodies of this Department, Margarita de Lezcano-Mújica, joined the meeting. The three parties exchanged views on the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed by Spain and France on 19 January in Barcelona, and discussed articles 18 and 19 of the agreement, on cooperation in higher education, research, and innovation. In this regard, they shared ways in which Crue and France Universités could actively support the implementation of the bilateral treaty.
It should be recalled that the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation foresees, among other aspects, the active promotion of French and Spanish participation in the European Universities Initiative and support for its deployment. This document also reflects the interest of both countries in promoting the mobility of researchers and within the Horizon Europe framework programme or through the development of bilateral programmes.
