Switzerland-EU Talks Will Likely Start in March, Government Says

(Bloomberg) — Talks to revamp relations between Switzerland and the European Union will likely start this month.

The dialog will start as soon as the European Commission signs off on its final negotiating mandate, “probably in the course of March 2024,” the government in Bern said in a statement on Friday.

Switzerland walked away from a potential accord two years ago, shaking crucial political and economic ties and frustrating the bloc. The talks are now set to restart with the aim of repackaging what’s currently a vast array of bilateral agreements — covering everything from access to the EU’s market to freedom of movement and financial regulation — into a more streamlined deal.

Issues under discussion in the renewed negotiations include “five existing single-market treaties” as well as two new ones on electricity and food safety, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told a press conference in Bern. Cooperation agreements on research funding and on the student mobility program Erasmus Plus are also on the table.

In its statement, the Swiss cabinet also said that:

• The 1972 free trade agreement between Switzerland and the EU is not part of the negotiations
• Switzerland aims to keep its current high level of wages and working conditions
• While willing to open up its electricity market, Switzerland will push for the right of Swiss consumers to keep regulated prices, with changes possible only once a year
• A controlled opening of Switzerland to international rail transport must not impair the domestic quality of public transport
• While an agricultural treaty is supposed to be negotiated, Switzerland’s protective agricultural policies, including tariffs, are not supposed to change
• A planned ad hoc arbitration tribunal will decide compensation measures if Switzerland chooses not to implement EU law in certain areas

Any treaty that would emerge from successful negotiations might have to be approved by Swiss citizens in a referendum, the government said. The justice ministry is working to clarify this issue, it added.

“Switzerland wants to move forward quickly. But the rule is: quality before speed,” Cassis said. “As in any negotiation, you won’t achieve everything you want.”

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