Exploratory talks: EU ambassador sees room in negotiations with Switzerland

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The twelve-page document is a framework, “you have to stay within this framework,” Mavromichalis said in the SRF radio program “Samstagsrundschau”. You can no longer discuss everything you don’t like during the expected negotiations. “Otherwise we would have wasted our time,” the diplomat said. “But there are always individual things that can be improved,” he said. A sticking point between Switzerland and the EU is wage protection measures.

The explanation reached after the exploratory talks was that a ‘landing zone’ had been developed. “We feel tied,” he said. But it is a political document, not a legal document. “It can still be changed or improved.”

This joint statement serves as a basis for future negotiations between Switzerland and the EU on their further relationship and the contractual framework. The results of the exploratory discussions are recorded there. Diplomats from Switzerland and the EU have been conducting exploratory talks since April 2022. The final round took place on October 27 this year.

In addition to institutional issues such as dispute resolution and dynamic legal transfer, discussions also covered new agreements on electricity, health and food safety. This agreement package also includes Switzerland’s resumption in the EU research and education programs ‘Horizon Europe’ and ‘Erasmus plus’. (SDA)

Source:Blick