EU asks for written responses from Switzerland to advance talks
The European Union has asked Switzerland to send written responses to a series of open questions as talks seem unable to resolve the current political impasse and to advance negotiations on individual agreements.
This content was published on
2 minutes
SRF/jdp
Español
es
La UE exige respuestas a Suiza para avanzar en las negociaciones
According to Swiss public broadcaster SRF, Switzerland’s approach to negotiating separate agreements with the EU Commission is being met with great scepticism by the 27-member bloc. Last week, Switzerland’s chief negotiator Livia Leu met with the European Commission’s Juraj Nociar to move the discussion forward in a bid to overcome the current impasse between Brussels and Bern after the Swiss shelved an overarching framework deal governing long-term ties almost exactly a year ago.
This treaty would have replaced more than 120 bilateral deals which have regulated relations for the past decades. Switzerland is now forced to negotiate each agreement on an individual basis.
Some of the open issues include the role of the European Court of Justice, the dynamic adoption of EU laws, rules on state aid and the free movement of people. Despite talks, the EU still doesn’t have a clear picture of the concrete solutions being proposed by Switzerland, wrote SRF on Wednesday.
In response to a request from SRF, the European Commission said it had sent a letter to the Swiss government requesting a written response to open questions. Only after these responses are provided can the EU bloc assess whether the Swiss government’s proposals provide a foundation for further negotiations on separate sectoral agreements.
Earlier this week, the EU Ambassador to Switzerland, Petros Mavromichalis, told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper that certain issues, such as a legal mechanism for dispute settlement, had to be agreed between the two sides before any other agreements could be reached.
“Switzerland wants new access agreements to the common market. But this will only be possible if the institutional issues are resolved. You can’t build a house if the foundations are unstable,” he said.
Federer-backed On boosts forecast after sneaker demand rises
This content was published on
Swiss footwear company On Holding AG posted strong first-quarter revenue, boosted by demand for its running shoes and new line of training apparel.
Michael Schumacher’s watches fetch CHF4 million at Swiss auction
This content was published on
Watches belonging to Formula 1 great Michael Schumacher sold for around CHF4 million ($4.41 million) at auction house Christie's in Geneva on Tuesday.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
This content was published on
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Top politician tells ‘corrupt’ Eurovision to stay away from Bern
This content was published on
A social media post by the president of Bern’s cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.
Swiss centre records over 200 victims of human trafficking
This content was published on
Last year 317 people took part in a protection programme run by the Specialist Unit for Trafficking in Women and Women’s Migration (FIZ) in German-speaking Switzerland.
This content was published on
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
EU ambassador: Switzerland won’t get ‘special treatment’
This content was published on
Switzerland won’t receive any preferential treatment over European Union member states warned the EU Ambassador to Switzerland, Petros Mavromichalis.
This content was published on
Citing “substantial differences”, the government has decided not to move ahead with a controversial institutional agreement on relations with the EU.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.