Last week, Switzerland’s government revealed plans to present the agreements negotiated with the European Commission in 2024 to parliament. These will be split into four resolutions: one aimed at stabilising bilateral relations and three focused on advancing food safety, electricity and health.
The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body, believes that one or more agreements could be rejected by parliament or the electorate, meaning they wouldn’t come into effect. However, this scenario is only possible if the agreement to stabilise relations is put in place first.
When asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency if the European Commission agrees with the Federal Council’s view, a spokesperson said on Tuesday: “All agreements and protocols were negotiated as a package and concluded as such in December 2024.” These agreements and protocols will come into force once ratified by both sides.
The EU Commission pointed to the joint understanding reached with the Federal Council, which formed the basis for the negotiations.
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The rocky relationship between Switzerland and the European Union
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The Swiss president, Viola Amherd, would like to seal a deal by the end of the year to update relations with the European Union.
EU chief negotiator shares the view of the Federal Council
In February, the European Commission’s chief negotiator, Richard Szostak, aligned with the Federal Council’s stance. He presented the negotiated agreements to a European Parliament committee at that time.
Szostak said that for the new agreements to take effect, the stabilisation package must first become legally binding. Without this stabilisation element, no new agreement could come into force. This follows the logic of the package.
The EU’s key demands, like the free movement of people and the cohesion contribution, were included in the stabilisation package. Szostak noted that, unlike Switzerland, the EU’s ratification process bundled all eleven agreements into a single package.
Translated from German with DeepL/sp
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