Brussels, 12/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - Taxes Switzerland intends to introduce on "alcopops" could be discriminatory. Given that these alcoholic drinks are mainly produced abroad, the Commission indicated during the Mixed EU/Switzerland on Thursday in Brussels that it believed the taxes could be discriminatory. Switzerland pointed out that it intended to raise taxes on these drinks by 300% due to public health care considerations. It rejected the Commission's stance, pointing out that whatever the origins of these drinks, the tax would be the same. From Switzerland's point of view, the tax complies with the EU/Switzerland free trade agreement.
During the EU/Switzerland Committee meeting, the two delegations decided to increase import quotas of lemonade from Switzerland to the EU. The Swiss authorities indicated that they were worried about the revision of the European customs code, which requires a 24 hour notification in advance of the arrival of goods at customs. Bern declared in a press statement that "This rule obstructs transport of goods from Switzerland to the EU and vice-versa". A meeting of experts is expected to examine the issue.
The EU presented the Commission's most recent proposals at this meeting on electricity networks. This subject is of primary importance to Switzerland, given that the power cut crippling Italy this summer was due to a "technical" hitch in Switzerland. According to the ATS agency, geographically, Switzerland is situated between the largest electricity importer, Italy and the largest exporter, France.