On Thursday 1 February, the European Commission took note of the announcements made in Bern by the Swiss Federal Council the previous day regarding relations between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union.
"For us, the priority is the negotiation of an institutional agreement that will enable greater market access to be planned" for Switzerland, respecting "our European interests", the spokesperson for the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, commented. He added that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker would continue to be personally involved to make these negotiations progress, especially during 2018 – which offers a window of opportunity, as stated on Wednesday by the Swiss federal councillor tasked with foreign affairs, Ignazio Cassis.
On Wednesday 31 January, the Swiss Federal Council indeed defined the outlines of the relations it would like to have with the European Union, when 2017 was marked by a series of tensions between the two partners, between the inclusion of Switzerland on the grey list of tax havens and the limitation to a year of equivalence for Swiss stock markets. These tensions are justified by the fact the EU is growing impatient on the issue of an institutional agreement, which has been on the negotiating table since 2013, and which the two parties agreed to conclude in 2017 but which has still not moved forwards, stumbling on the issue of dispute settlement and the role of the EU Court of Justice.
During a press conference, Cassis said that Bern would like to conclude in 2018, with 2019 being marked by elections on both sides, and not enabling any concrete action. But he said the Federal Council could certainly not conclude in spring 2018, as Juncker had called for on 23 November during his visit. In the immediate future, the Federal Council will also attend to calls for clarity and state what it expects in terms of sectoral market access agreements, which will be under this institutional framework, with Bern being interested in agreements on energy and services.
The Swiss Federal Council has also appointed a new negotiator with the EU, Roberto Balzaretti, who was the Swiss ambassador to the EU in 2012-2016. He has received the title of State Secretary for European Affairs and will steer the negotiations with the Commission. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)