Ministers discuss Swiss-EU deal with Italy and Hungary
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis received his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjarto, in Bern on May 5.
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Ministers discuss Swiss-EU deal with Italy and Hungary
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis held talks on Monday with their respective counterparts from Italy and Hungary. The new Swiss-EU deal, which still has to be approved by the 27 European Union member states, was a key talking point at both meetings.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Français
fr
Accords Suisse-UE: Berne soigne ses liens avec Rome et Budapest
Original
Switzerland stressed the “close ties” with Italy and Hungary and the “solid basis” of the package of agreements with the EU at the end of their meetings on Monday.
Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency role this year, met Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Rome. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis received his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjarto, in Bern.
On Wednesday Economics Minister Guy Parmelin will travel to Bulgaria, another EU member state, to meet Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Rosen Jeliazkov.
‘No advantage in refusing agreements’
The package of agreements between Switzerland and the EU, which was successfully negotiated in December, still has to be validated by the European Council, which brings together the ministers of the 27 member states, and by the Swiss Parliament.
According to Carlo Sommaruga, a Swiss member of the Switzerland-EU parliamentary friendship group, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria have no advantage in rejecting these agreements.
“However, it is to be hoped that these texts will not be used as a tool in institutional conflicts within the EU,” he told the Keystone-ATS news agency. Hungary is currently at odds with the EU on a number of points.
Sommaruga said it was appropriate for the Swiss government ministers to travel abroad to meet foreign officials to ensure that the deal is concluded.
Earlier this year, the European Commission withdrew planned EU aid to Hungary because of violations of the rule of law. Switzerland, on the other hand, has decided to maintain its contribution to cohesion. Around CHF87.6 million ($106.3 million) has been earmarked for Hungary until the end of 2029.
Translated from French by DeepL/sb
We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.
Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey below to help us understand your needs.
External Content
Popular Stories
More
Climate solutions
Switzerland turns train tracks into solar power plants
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Swiss parliament rejects national microchipping scheme for cats
This content was published on
Switzerland should not introduce a nationwide mandatory microchip scheme for cats. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives rejected such an idea by 108 votes to 80.
Sharp rise in reported cyber incidents in Switzerland
This content was published on
The number of reported cyber incidents and online threats in Switzerland rose sharply last year, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Swiss National Bank ‘ready to consider’ negative interest rates
This content was published on
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is prepared to lower its key interest rate even further in the face of economic uncertainty, Chair Martin Schlegel said on Tuesday.
Toxic chemicals from car tyres found in fruit and vegetables in Switzerland
This content was published on
Tyre additives are transferred into the food chain, according to a new study in Switzerland. Further research is needed to establish the dangers for human health.
Swiss pensioner in court for feeding neighbour’s cat
This content was published on
A 68-year-old Swiss woman is in court in Zurich on Tuesday, accused of systematically feeding her neighbour's cat "Leo" - a criminal offence in Switzerland - so that the cat no longer wanted to go home.
SWISS flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended until May 11
This content was published on
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has cancelled all flights to and from the Israeli city of Tel Aviv until May 11 after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels landed near the airport.
UBS will pay $511 million to end Credit Suisse US tax probe
This content was published on
UBS Group AG agreed to pay $511 million ($420 million) to settle a US investigation into how Credit Suisse Group, the Swiss bank it bought, helped rich Americans evade taxes.
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.