No agreement at Switzerland-EU interparliamentary meeting
Published: Friday, Feb 9th 2024, 19:50
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Members of the Swiss Federal Assembly and the European Parliament met in Bern on Thursday and Friday for an interparliamentary exchange. The focus was on the draft negotiating mandate for future relations between Switzerland and the EU. The parliamentarians did not reach agreement.
The Swiss parliamentary services announced on Friday evening that a large majority of participants were in favor of the swift commencement of negotiations. It was in the common interest of Switzerland and the EU to put relations on a new footing.
Critical voices have pointed out that, in particular, the obligation to dynamically adopt EU law and the subordination to EU jurisdiction violates Switzerland's independence. Furthermore, the democratic rights of the Swiss people would not be respected.
The Swiss delegation invited various interest groups such as Economiesuisse, the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions and the Conference of Cantons to provide an insight into domestic policy issues, it was reported. Questions on wage protection, the dispute settlement mechanism, immigration and a future electricity agreement were part of the discussions.
According to the communiqué, the President of the European delegation, Andreas Schwab (EPP/Germany), hopes that both parties will soon be able to adopt their mandates and begin official negotiations. The declared aim on both the Swiss and the EU side is to be able to start negotiations in the spring.
This was the 43rd annual interparliamentary meeting between Switzerland and the EU. The last time the committees met was in Brussels in 2023. Nine parliamentarians were represented in the Swiss delegation. It was chaired by National Councillor Thomas Aeschi (SVP/ZG). Four members of the European Parliament (also known as the EU Parliament) were present.
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