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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives her annual State of the Union address during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on September 13, 2023. (Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP)
The Swiss government indicated Wednesday that it is moving closer to resuming talks with the EU towards a broad cooperation agreement, two years after suddenly slamming the door on years-long negotiations.
The government, known as the Federal Council, said in a statement that it had concluded exploratory talks with Brussels, and had tasked the foreign ministry with drafting a mandate for proper negotiations by the end of the year.
The government said it had “decided to draw up a negotiating mandate. Before the end of the year, it will decide whether or not to adopt it” and submit it to the country’s foreign affairs committees and regional representatives for consultations.
It said it had informed the European Commission of its decision.
Ties between Brussels and Bern have been strained since Switzerland suddenly decided in May 2021 to end years of discussions towards a broad cooperation agreement with the bloc.
EU-Swiss ties are currently governed by a patchwork of agreements, and for more than a decade discussions were ongoing towards an overarching accord that would have harmonised the legal framework governing the relationship.
But the talks hit an impasse after the EU refused to budge on Swiss demands to exclude key issues relating to state aid, wage protections and freedom of movement.
Since April 2022, Switzerland has been trying to pick up the pieces and establish common ground with Brussels through exploratory discussions.
The last in a long series of such talks took place on October 27, and the Swiss government said Wednesday it was “of the opinion that the exploratory talks have now concluded”.
Bern said it had been doing a lot of work internally through discussions with the country’s 26 cantons, unions and the business community, in particular regarding on the sticking points that upended the negotiations last time.
“Many of these issues have been satisfactorily clarified,” Wednesday’s statement said, pointing for instance to agreement that “the public sector remains outside the scope of the negotiations”.
But it acknowledged that “some questions still remain open”.
It said technical discussions would continue with the cantons and unions on internal measures regarding among other things safeguarding Swiss wage levels.
The cantons hailed the announcement, but the country’s unions remain unconvinced.
On Monday several unions hosted a press conference to slam the outcome of the exploratory talks in advance, decrying moves to “liberalise” the Swiss model of wage protection and public service.
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