On Tuesday 18 July, the members of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) adopted the report by Lukas Mandl (EPP, Austrian) on relations between the EU and Switzerland by 51 votes to 3 (no abstentions).
The report notes that relations between the EU and Switzerland ”are currently unbalanced and that the model based on individual bilateral agreements rather than a global agreement is outdated”. The EU and Switzerland “need an ambitious new global agreement that would reduce barriers to trade and create a level playing field for EU citizens and economic operators”, according to a press release.
It regrets “the Swiss Federal Council’s decision to end negotiations on the EU-Switzerland institutional framework in May 2021 after seven years of negotiations, which was essential for Switzerland's continued participation in the single market and the maintenance of frictionless trade in several industrial sectors, and which has also affected Switzerland’s participation in the Erasmus+ programme”.
While the Swiss Federal Council has recently approved the parameters of a negotiating mandate, MEPs call on the Commission and the Swiss Federal Council to use this short window of opportunity to reach agreement on a possible new negotiating package before the end of the legislature.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/867 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)