Swiss government ends EU treaty discussions By Jordan Conestabile

The Swiss government recently decided to shutdown discussions on a framework agreement with the European Union (EU). Switzerland is not in the EU, but has signed over 120 agreements incorporating various EU norms. This treaty sought to provide an overarching framework for cooperation.

Swiss concerns stemmed from opposition to the EU’s demand for equal rights for EU citizens working in Switzerland, including rights to social security benefits, salary protection and state aid rules.

President Guy Parmelin noted that the government wants this new chapter in Swiss-EU relations to be based on “cultivating and developing” relations on the basis of the existing bilateral agreements.  Parmelin hoped for a fruitful “reset in our relationship” adding that Switzerland and EU remained first class partners.

President Guy Parmelin (photo from President Parmelin)

The EU Executive Commission regretted the Swiss decision, stating that “without this agreement the modernization of our relationship will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age.” The commission believed the “core purpose” of the deal was to ensure that anyone operating in the EU single market, to which Switzerland has significant access, faces the same conditions, a “fundamental matter of fairness and legal certainty.”

Domestic political undercurrents contributed to this outcome. The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the country’s leading conservative-populist party, viewed the move as “a victory for Swiss self-determination,” while trade unions applauded the decision, concerned about the perceived negative affect increased EU integration would have on wage protection and public service.

Jordan Conestabile is a Political Science student at Utica College