Switzerland-EU joint declaration to be presented on Friday
Published: Tuesday, Dec 12th 2023, 15:00
Updated At: Tuesday, Dec 12th 2023, 15:00
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According to EU Deputy Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, the Federal Council is to present the joint Swiss-EU declaration on Friday. He said this on Tuesday in Brussels on the sidelines of a media conference in response to a question from journalists.
"We are waiting for this step and will then continue to mirror the Swiss steps," explained the EU Commissioner responsible for the Swiss dossier. He hopes that this will then result in a negotiating mandate on both the Swiss and the EU side.
Federal Council spokesperson André Simonazzi did not want to confirm publication on Friday when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency: "The Federal Council determines the agenda for Federal Council meetings." And the Federal Council does not provide information about the agenda of a Federal Council meeting in advance, Simonazzi wrote.
Words of praise for Switzerland
Sefcovic, for his part, praised the "constructive attitude" of the Swiss negotiating team during the recent talks. The EU Commission was pleased to have drawn up a joint declaration with Switzerland.
He hopes that, once the negotiating mandates are available, "we will be able to proceed quickly with the negotiations", Sefcovic continued.
This is because the EU Commission still has the ambition to conclude the negotiations within this mandate. The EU Commission's mandate ends in fall 2024.
Declaration as a basis
Diplomats from Switzerland and the EU have been holding exploratory talks since April 2022. The last round took place at the end of October this year.
Specifically, common "landing zones" were defined during the talks, which were set out in a joint declaration. This declaration will serve as the basis for future negotiations between the EU and Switzerland on a package of agreements.
The package includes not only the so-called institutional issues such as the regulation of dispute resolution or the dynamic adoption of law, but also new agreements on electricity, health and food safety.
It also contains provisions on Switzerland's readmission to the EU research and education programs "Horizon Europe" and "Erasmus plus" as well as on regular payments of a cohesion contribution by Switzerland.
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