The European Commission announced on Monday 17 December that it had proposed to extend the equivalence for the Swiss stock exchange by six months until 30 June 2019.
Commissioner Johannes Hahn, responsible for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, confirmed a decision that had already been taken on 11 December in Strasbourg (see EUROPE 12157). The adoption procedure (comitology) for this extension was launched on Friday 14 December with the Member States and will end on Wednesday evening.
This decision should enable the Swiss Federal Council to conduct the consultation on the draft framework agreement, announced on 7 December, when it had not been able to take a firm decision.
In December 2017, the Commission had publicly linked the fate of the Swiss stock exchange to institutional negotiations). This grant of an additional six months (until 2017, Switzerland had unlimited equivalence and still believes it is entitled to it) must therefore be seen as a "gesture of confidence on our part" and a sufficiently broad time frame for the Federal Council to approve this framework agreement.
"It is hoped that the consultation process will yield the expected results,” Hahn said. According to him, this framework agreement, which was initiated more than four years ago, is the best possible balance, as both parties have "taken steps towards each other". The Commissioner recalled that the EU wanted to simplify the framework of current relations, which each time involves new negotiations on all bilateral agreements to move them forward.
Thus, on this 34-page draft framework agreement, the Commission made a gesture on the dispute settlement mechanism via the arbitration tribunal, which rules out direct recourse to the EU Court of Justice.
On Swiss labour protection measures, it also considers that it has been flexible in allowing EU employers to notify the arrival of posted workers in Switzerland within 4 days, so that the Swiss authorities can carry out checks, while Switzerland maintains its 8-day rule in the event of the posting of Swiss workers to the EU.
While the Swiss negotiators approved this new 4-day rule at the technical level, they did not officially defend this position in the Federal Council, leaving the initial agreement in doubt.
The Commission did not like this. On Monday, a European source mentioned a great "frustration" when "every time Switzerland approves something", it "withdraws it" later.
Both sides also found a solution on state aid, with the new rules only concerning air transport and future sectoral agreements.
In the meantime, "time is running out" for Switzerland, said Commissioner Hahn. The next Commission may not be as willing as the Juncker Commission to find an arrangement with the Confederation. “The ball is now in Bern's court,” added the European leader. And there will be no further negotiations on the draft framework agreement until then.
Mr Hahn also mentioned possible actions that the Commission could take if the framework agreement is rejected. Not only will there be no new internal market access agreements, but there will also be no updating of existing agreements. Such a situation could, for example, compromise the recognition given to Swiss medical devices. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)