State government considers parameters for negotiating mandate: will the Federal Council allow Flix trains?

The paper is secret. But according to information from Blick, it is a 20-page document with attachments. The points of contention from the framework agreement that sank the Bundesrat two years ago are mainly those of today, for example how to proceed in a dispute and what role the European Court of Justice should have.

An important problem that seems to have been solved is the Citizens of the Union Directive (UBRL). This should be done in a way that does not dilute the eviction initiative. And it should only be limited to people with jobs. This is to prevent uncontrolled immigration in our social services.

Less popular than before

A condition for the envisaged electricity agreement should be that Switzerland also liberalizes the electricity market for private customers. They should be able to choose whether to stay with the basic service or buy their electricity on the open market.

It is unlikely that this will be popular with the general public. After electricity prices skyrocketed last year, companies already buying their electricity on the open market sought to return to basic services as market prices pushed them to the brink of bankruptcy. After these experiences, the liberalization of the electricity market will probably be even less popular than before.

Dumping wages in the Flixzug

Apparently, the EU is also pushing for Swiss rail transport to be liberalised. In plain language: companies like Flixtrain should be able to apply for a permit in our country. Such low-cost railways concentrate on lucrative routes between major European cities. The trains will be integrated into the Swiss interval timetable system and into our ticketing system. However, the transport workers’ union SEV warns that the wage and social system looks different.

The free trade agreement of 1972 is also mentioned. What matters is the extent to which this is updated. It is clear that Switzerland wants to maintain its agricultural protection.

Certainty is only one-sided

An important bone of contention has always been wage protection. While trade union umbrella Travailsuisse and individual unions see progress in this area, the trade union federation still sees wage protection at risk.

Critics complain that EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic (56)’s commitment to continue Swiss wage protection is only unilateral. That means: if the EU worsens its wage protection rules, we don’t have to go along with this worsening. Anyway! However, there are no binding commitments to independent protection. In any case, it is still unclear whether Brussels respects our collective agreements and our level of control.

From the current perspective, the critics consider it doubtful that such a package could win a popular majority.