Brussels / Bern, 14/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - "The attempt to put pressure on the European Union has not improved the climate" of the 5th meeting on coordination of the EU/Switzerland negotiations, last Friday in Bern, noted Swiss national Mickael Ambühl, Head of the Integration Bureau. After this meeting with Percy Westerlund, Director for External Relations at the European Commission, Mickaël Ambühl felt the flanking measures evoked at the last Ecofin Council to compel Switzerland to review its proposals on savings tax were "unfair, unjustified and counter-productive". "Unfair because Switzerland is not in breach of any international agreement. Unjustified because the Swiss withholding proposal (on tax income invested in Switzerland by EU residents) is very substantial and constitutes supply equivalent to the EU demand for information exchange (…). Counter-productive because such attempts at putting on pressure reduce the likelihood of reaching a conclusion", he said. He continued saying: "Our priority is to reach good results and generally balanced results. If such results can be obtained rapidly, we are willing to conclude negotiations rapidly". The chief Swiss negotiator recalled that there are no more major problems with six out of the ten agreements under negotiation (processed agricultural products, Media programme, statistics, environment, retirement pensions and education and youth programmes), but that there are still difficulties for four subjects. In addition to the question of savings tax, progress must still be made in negotiations on fraud, Schengen and services.
Fraud: After being blocked in the spring, negotiations resumed in September. "Switzerland agrees to resume the acquis with regard to judicial cooperation, but maintaining the notion of dual criminality", said Mickael Ambühl. It is ready to go further than cases of fraud with regards indirect taxation, "to include other cases of infringement", such as professional smuggling. Switzerland is also willing to make concessions on additional measures concerning extradition in particular.
Schengen / Dublin: Switzerland still insists that the principle of dual criminality should be maintained (see EUROPE of 7/8 October, p.12) and that it should be involved in the preparation of future European legislation that will be part of the "acquis". It also hopes to have sufficient time for transposing the legislation in order to comply with Swiss legislative procedures - that is, to be able to hold a referendum if necessary.
Services: There are still problems regarding the adoption of acquis on liberalising posts, the definition of money laundering, competition law, as well as adoption of future acquis.