On Wednesday 31 October, member state ambassadors (Coreper) discussed the proposed institutional agreement between the EU and Switzerland and supported work by the Commission.
The aim of seeking an agreement with Bern in 2018 was encouraged but the debate did not cover specific aspects such as renewal of the stock exchange equivalence that, end 2017, the Commission had decided to link to progress made on the institutional framework agreement. Discussions provided an opportunity for the delegations to reiterate their interests in these negotiations with Switzerland, for example the Swiss financial contribution to cohesion or the dynamic implementation of European law, especially concerning the coordination of social security systems, a source told EUROPE.
According to the same source, the Commission’s tone was not of a kind to stop the talks which made headway on the dispute regulation (arbitration panel) but which are still having difficulties regarding state aid and above all the labour market protection measures. However, according to one diplomat, the Commission nonetheless underlined that the discussions were currently deadlocked and that nothing would happen before 25 November, the date of a vote in Switzerland on the primacy of Swiss law.
President Juncker, for his part, spoke on the telephone on Wednesday with his Swiss counterpart, Alain Berset. They reiterated their “resolve to conclude an agreement”, on condition that questions still unanswered would be settled, a European Commission spokesperson said. However, no further negotiation session is scheduled as yet. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)