The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, replied on 11 June to the letter sent to him on 7 June by the Swiss Federal Council asking the EU to clarify certain points of the draft institutional framework agreement (see EUROPE 12271/30). “I want to see this as a positive message which would allow us to sign this fundamental Agreement together at the earliest possible moment”, President Juncker said at the beginning of his letter.
In this letter, he says he is fully prepared to provide these clarifications, in particular on State aid, the ‘citizenship’ directive and the social dimension of the agreement. However, they will remain within the framework agreed between the two parties at the end of 2018. No rewriting will be possible. Moreover, these clarifications could pose “some difficulties for the European Union”, given “the current political climate”, writes Mr Juncker, referring to the United Kingdom and Brexit, which is also pending.
These clarifications will have to be mutually agreed in the “next few days”, and the college of Commissioners will make a full review on 18 June. On that day, the Commission is also expected to announce what it intends to do about the equivalence of the Swiss stock exchange, which could be further extended until the end of October.
In any case, President Juncker expresses the wish to see this framework agreement concluded during his term of office. “Beyond that, it is difficult for me to prejudge what will happen” to this instrument and to the bilateral relationship. Link to Jean-Claude Juncker's letter (in French): https://bit.ly/2KbiZr3 (Solenn Paulic)