This week, Maros Sefcovic, the vice president of the European Commission, met in Bern with Ignazio Cassis, Switzerland’s foreign minister to progress talks on Switzerland’s future deal with the EU with the aim of concluding negotiations by the end of the year, reported RTS.
Responding to questions, Ignazio Cassis said they’re on the home straight and that Sefcovic’s visit to Bern was a sign that important progress had been made. Everything has gone well so far with a few items left to discuss regarding agreement content and process, said Cassis. Outstanding items include a safeguard clause that would allow Switzerland to pause EU immigration, an agreement on electricity and the amount Switzerland would be required to contribute to Europe’s cohesion fund, a mechanism for transferring money from rich to poor EU nations.
Once the negotiations are complete, the results will be presented to Switzerland’s federal parliament. Once through parliament, the resulting plan, assuming it remains acceptable to Brussels, will be presented to Swiss voters in a referendum, which is not expected to take place before autumn 2026.
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RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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