Brussels, 24/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 24 July, the EU member state representatives to the EU (Coreper) approved the draft letter from High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton to the Swiss authorities, rejecting the Swiss request to review the agreement on the freedom of movement (see EUROPE 11126).
Ashton's letter sends a categorical “no” to Switzerland - a predictable position in that the European Commission has always made its hostility known to re-opening this bilateral agreement.
The Swiss government was asked by the Swiss people in February to re-establish the quotas of foreign workers by February 2017 - including EU citizens working on Swiss soil. The result of the referendum attracted the wrath of the EU which has continued ever since to repeat that the principle of free movement is not negotiable. Ashton's staff are due to send this letter shortly. (SP)