Parliament says yes to new agreement with Indonesia
Published: Tuesday, Dec 12th 2023, 10:10
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Parliament has approved a new type of investment agreement between Switzerland and Indonesia. After the Council of States, the National Council also approved the agreement, which was negotiated using a new approach, on Tuesday.
A minority of the committee responsible for preliminary deliberations failed with a motion to reject the agreement. It justified this with the statement that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the 21st century, for example with regard to climate protection and the interests of the local population. The new dispute settlement procedures mainly favored multinational companies.
The majority in the National Council countered that such agreements would provide Swiss companies with legal certainty. Indonesia is an important export country for Switzerland.
The agreement signed by Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and the Indonesian Investment Minister in Davos in May 2022 still has to go through the final votes of both chambers. A "no" to the agreement in these two votes would be a surprise.
This is because the Council of States voted in favor by 29 votes to 10 in September. The National Council has now done the same by 125 votes to 62 with 8 abstentions. The Greens and SP voted against the agreement.
One of a hundred agreements
According to the Federal Council, what is new about the negotiation approach of the agreement with Indonesia is that, compared to previous agreements, it restricts the discretion of the arbitration tribunals in disputes through additional provisions.
The text also contains statements on the regulatory law of the partner states, social responsibility and the fight against corruption. These serve sustainable development.
In the National Council, the spokesperson for the preliminary consultation committee said that for around ten years, many of Switzerland's target countries for such agreements had begun to terminate them. According to Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (center/BL), the new agreement with Indonesia is the first according to new negotiation approaches.
Switzerland has concluded around one hundred such investment protection agreements with other countries. These agreements are important for countries such as Switzerland with its relatively small domestic market and high export share.
©Keystone/SDA
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