According to legal analysis, EU treaties probably do not require a majority of the cantons
Published: Wednesday, Jun 26th 2024, 17:50
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The outcome of the EU negotiations cannot be subject to a mandatory referendum under the current constitution. This is the conclusion reached by the Federal Office of Justice in a legal analysis, which the Federal Council took note of on Wednesday.
The 20-page expert opinion, which was made available to the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday, concludes that there is probably no constitutional basis for subjecting the outcome of EU negotiations to a mandatory state treaty referendum in non-explicit cases (sui generis).
According to the analysis, depending on the actual outcome of the negotiations, the agreements would only be subject to an optional referendum. This would mean that a majority of the people would suffice and a majority of the cantons would not be required. The hurdle for the EU proposal in a vote would therefore be lower.
The expert opinion is a legal and not a political assessment. The Federal Council did not want to commit itself to the issue on Wednesday. It stated that it would only decide what proposal it would submit to the Federal Assembly as part of the dispatch on the negotiation package.
The responsible parliamentary committees have so far emphasized that it is up to the Federal Council to clarify the issue of the mandatory referendum or the majority of the cantons. The SVP, which rejects negotiations with the EU in principle, previously made it clear that it considers a vote with a majority of the cantons to be necessary.
Mixed interim results
On Wednesday, the Federal Council gave a mixed interim assessment of the ongoing negotiations between Switzerland and the EU on future relations. Concrete progress has been made in some areas, it wrote in a press release. In other areas, such as immigration and wage protection, there was "still too little" agreement on positions. Here, the delegations' positions need to converge further.
More than seventy meetings have been held since negotiations with the EU Commission began in mid-March this year. Over twenty federal offices and the Conference of Cantonal Governments have been involved. The parties held discussions at around a dozen topic-specific "negotiating tables".
Parallel to the negotiations with the EU, talks on key issues are being held with interest groups in Switzerland. The Federal Council expressed its "satisfaction" with the cooperation and the progress of this work. The Federal Council intends to review the situation again in the fall. The EU and Switzerland want to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year.
©Keystone/SDA
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