Brussels, 23 May (LaPresse) – ‘The Harvard case came up’ during the Council meeting, "and everyone obviously commented on it. For my part, I reiterated that our ongoing commitment has been to keep universities free and autonomous: freedom of teaching, freedom of research, but also freedom to express dissent. We have had difficult times and have always guaranteed political freedom for all, which is fundamental for us." This was stated by the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, on the sidelines of the Competitiveness and Research Council in Brussels, responding to a question on the US administration's decision to ban foreign students from Harvard universities. "We believe that reducing or limiting the number of enrolments is not an appropriate choice, also from the point of view of university policy, not just in general terms. We have 50% more foreign students enrolled. And this is the direction we want to take,‘ she emphasised. ’So let's say that our assessment is based on facts. We want more internationalisation, more openness in our universities, freedom of research, education, thought and even dissent. And I must say that all my colleagues agreed on this.‘ ’As far as we are concerned, we have said that our recruitment activities, i.e. the ways in which we want to make ourselves more attractive, began before Donald Trump. They began before the events of recent days. Each of us has tried to make our universities, research institutions and education more attractive in a national and European context, with tax incentives, visas for researchers, ensuring that researchers, professors and their families have as comfortable an environment as possible, and also guaranteeing that they can stay, not just come and go," he explains.
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