The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

People’s Party congress slams draft EU framework deal

albert rösti in parliament
People's Party president Albert Rösti speaking in parliament last December. © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

At a gathering in eastern Switzerland, members of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party reiterated on Saturday their staunch opposition to a draft framework accord with the European Union.

“A contract of submission that Switzerland can and should never sign,” was how party president Albert Rösti put it, as delegates of Switzerland’s biggest political group met in canton Thurgau to discuss their line on several current issues.

More
two flags

More

What is this EU framework deal?

This content was published on An institutional framework would simplify future ties between Switzerland and its biggest trading partner.

Read more: What is this EU framework deal?

Though by no means a surprise – the People’s Party is anti-EU – the firm stance comes at a moment when the consultation process on the framework deal, begun by the government in December, is wrapping up.

So far, many parties, including the Social Democrats, have given mixed messages about their stance: apart from the People’s Party, the only other groups that have come out clearly have been the Liberal Greens and the Radical Liberals, both in favour.

The People’s Party opposition, based on concerns that have also roused the ire of trade unions such as wage protection and rules for foreign companies operating in Switzerland, is mainly grounded on the issue of sovereignty.

One delegate at the Thurgau gathering, Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, said that ratifying the accord would mean becoming subject to EU laws, seeing “massive” increases in free movement, and suffering packed roads, railways, and housing shortages.

The public stance also comes a day after Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, marking 100 days in office, talked up the ‘bilateral path’ and relations with the EU in general as indispensable for hundreds of thousands of Swiss jobs.

Tricky relations

Since 2014, talks have been taking place to formalise relations between Bern and Brussels, currently covered by around 120 separate accords negotiated since a 1992 referendum in the Alpine state rejected joining the European Economic Area. 

The proposed overarching agreement covers five of the larger bilateral deals: free movement of people, mutual recognition of industrial standards, agricultural products, air transport, and land transport.

Under the negotiated accord, Swiss rules would automatically adapt to be in line with EU law. The treaty would also aim to provide a more effective platform to resolve disputes using arbitration panels to handle disagreements.

The EU has given Switzerland until July to decide whether it wants to accept the deal.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Porrentruy swimming pool: the town's mayor was not expecting such controversy

More

Porrentruy mayor comments on Swiss pool ban controversy

This content was published on The mayor of the Swiss town of Porrentruy, which has been in the headlines in neighbouring France after restricting access to a pool to locals after a spate of anti-social behaviour, says he has received much support in recent days.

Read more: Porrentruy mayor comments on Swiss pool ban controversy
Trained on the “Alps” supercomputer at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Lugano, the new LLM marks a milestone in open-source AI and multilingual excellence, according to its developers.

More

Swiss universities to release multilingual AI programme

This content was published on This summer researchers at Swiss universities will make available a large language model (LLM), an AI programme trained on vast amounts of data, developed on public infrastructure.

Read more: Swiss universities to release multilingual AI programme
Zurich cantonal police introduce fixed online police stations

More

Zurich introduces online police station

This content was published on After a one-year test phase, Zurich's cantonal police are introducing an online police station. Demand is high and the response from the public has been positive.

Read more: Zurich introduces online police station
St. Moritz registers the summer as a brand

More

St Moritz registers ‘summer’ as trademark

This content was published on The chic resort of St Moritz in southeastern Switzerland has registered "summer" as a trademark under the name "St Summer". The resort in canton Graubünden is launching a campaign to strengthen its summer business.

Read more: St Moritz registers ‘summer’ as trademark
House prices rose sharply in June

More

Swiss house prices rose sharply in June

This content was published on The prices of homes and apartments in Switzerland rose again in June. In the Lake Geneva region, prices of detached houses rose sharply. Meanwhile, in Zurich and its surrounding region the opposite trend was observed.

Read more: Swiss house prices rose sharply in June
Heavy crowds expected at Swiss airports

More

Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer

This content was published on Switzerland's main airports are preparing for a busy summer holiday period. A number of changes have been introduced to improve passenger flows that are expected to be well above average in July and August.

Read more: Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR