Swiss-EU parliamentary exchange group meets in Bern
EU relations: Switzerland's political hot potato looms constantly in the background.
Keystone / Felipe Trueba
At a meeting on Thursday and Friday, Swiss parliamentarians and their counterparts from the European Parliament were unable to reach a clear agreement on a draft negotiating mandate for future relations between Switzerland and the EU.
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A majority of participants at the exchange were however in favour of opening negotiations as soon as possible, the Swiss parliamentary services announced on Friday evening.
It is in the common interest of Switzerland and the EU to establish relations on a new basis, the services said.
However, Swiss critics point out that the obligation to adopt European law on a dynamic basis and the subordination to EU jurisdiction violate Switzerland’s independence. They also say the democratic rights of the Swiss people would not be respected by a new deal.
The Swiss delegation had invited various interest groups, such as the business federation economiesuisse, the Swiss Trade Union Federation and the Conference of Cantonal Governments to give an overview of the issues facing domestic policy as a result of Swiss-EU relations.
Topics relating to wage protection, the dispute settlement mechanism, immigration and a future agreement on electricity were discussed.
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The chairman of the European delegation, Andreas Schwab from Germany, said he hoped the two parties would soon be able to adopt their mandates and begin official negotiations, according to the parliamentary press release.
The stated objective of both sides is to be able to start negotiations in the spring.
This was the 43rd annual Switzerland-EU interparliamentary meeting. The last time the committees met was in Brussels in 2023. The Swiss delegation comprised nine members of parliament and was chaired by Thomas Aeschi from the People’s Party. Four MEPs represented the European Parliament.
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