Switzerland back at the negotiating table! After having decided to put an end to long years of talks, the neighboring country of France is preparing for new negotiations with the European Union. The federal government on Tuesday asked, after a special meeting, the ministries concerned to work on drawing up a mandate for negotiations with the EU by the end of June this year.
The Federal Council “notes the existence of a positive dynamic in the discussions between Switzerland and the EU at the technical, diplomatic and political levels”, underlines in a press release the government. After eight sessions of exploratory discussions and nineteen technical discussions between the Swiss and European delegations, the two parties had come to “a fine understanding” of their respective positions.
Alongside the development of the negotiation strategy, State Secretary Livia Leu was given a mandate to finalise, within the framework of the ongoing discussions with the EU, the common basis for future negotiations. The next exploratory talks are scheduled for April 20 in Brussels and technical talks with the EU continue on a weekly basis, the statement said.
Bern tries to put the pieces back together
Ties between Brussels and Bern have been strained since Switzerland suddenly decided in May 2021 to end years of talks for a broad cooperation agreement with the EU.
Relations between the EU-27 and Switzerland are currently governed by a mosaic of agreements and, for more than a decade, discussions continued with a view to a global agreement which would have harmonized the legal framework governing the relationship with the country nestled in the heart of the European Union, which is its main trading partner.
But talks for a framework agreement hit a stalemate after the European Union refused to give in to Swiss demands to exclude key issues of state aid, wage protection and freedom of movement. Since then, Bern has been trying to pick up the pieces and establish common ground with Brussels through so-called exploratory talks.