On Wednesday 22 February, the EU ambassadors (Coreper) finalised draft conclusions on relations with Switzerland which were examined by the EFTA group of the Council of the EU. Coreper underlined the need for Bern to move ahead swiftly with a new reform of company taxation, after the initial version of this reform was rejected on 12 February (see EUROPE 11724).
The EU member states also underline the need for "fair tax competition and encourage Switzerland to come into line swiftly" with European and international standards, Coreper's draft conclusions (seen by EUROPE) state.
In these conclusions, which will be adopted formally by the Council next week, the 28 EU member states underscore the importance of implementing the initiative on mass immigration, which was the subject of an agreement with the EU on 22 December 2016 (see EUROPE 11695).
At the end of 2016, the European Commission and EU member states hailed the initiative resulting from the Swiss referendum on 9 February 2014, while accompanying their green light with a few conditions. In their draft conclusions, the member states say that they will be watchful of job advertising, and of the procedures for adopting further measures (should significant unemployment be observed) likely to affect cross-border workers.
Although the EU and Switzerland remain privileged partners, it is time for the Council to negotiate a cross-border institutional framework aimed at facilitating the bilateral relations that have thus far been privileged. The deepening of relations comes from such a framework which, according to the EU member states and Swiss Confederation, should be negotiated as quickly as possible.
The negotiations leading to such an institutional agreement are nevertheless subject to red lines for Switzerland, especially on the issue of the role of legal entities (like the EU Court of Justice) in resolving disputes. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)