Free movement of persons remains a difficult issue for Brussels and Bern
Published: Friday, Sep 6th 2024, 14:50
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According to Brussels, the issue of the free movement of persons remains one of the points of discussion between Switzerland and the EU. Nevertheless, the ongoing negotiations between the Federal Council and the European Commission are progressing well overall.
The aim is still to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year, as a spokesperson for the European Commission said on Friday in Brussels when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. The spokesperson remained silent on other challenging dossiers and emphasized the "positive attitude" that currently exists.
The sixth round of talks took place in the last week of August. The seventh is to follow on September 16. There is also an exchange at a technical and political level between these rounds of negotiations. "The pace is high," said the spokesperson.
At the end of June, the Federal Council gave a mixed interim assessment. Concrete progress had been made in some areas, it wrote in a press release at the time. In other areas, such as immigration and wage protection, there was "still too little" agreement. Here, the delegations' positions would have to converge even further.
Switzerland and the EU have been negotiating since March to regulate future bilateral relations. In a joint document, both parties set out the areas in which new or updated agreements are being sought. The negotiating mandates include topics such as electricity, EU education and research programs and the regulation of institutional issues.
©Keystone/SDA
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