Europe’s universities outlined their potential role in the continent’s future, to coincide with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s annual State of the Union speech.
A European University Association statement said that “all stakeholders” must “ensure the free flow of ideas and people in Europe and promote it throughout the world”.
Universities “are some of the most efficient promoters of European values” and can contribute in areas “from regional development to science and academic diplomacy”, the statement said.
The EUA “would welcome an exchange of evidence and ideas going forward, both for the benefit of European education, research and innovation and the European project as a whole,” it added.