A European Union (EU) official confirmed the decision on Tuesday to the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. The item had been on the agenda of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels, whose task was to formally approve the mandate.
Prior to this, various working groups as well as the permanent representations of the EU member states had discussed the negotiating document, submittedExternal link by the EU Commission.
After the Swiss government adopted its mandate last Friday, both sides now have their starting positions for negotiations, which are due to start this month, the Swiss foreign ministry said last week.
Translated from German by DeepL/dos
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