“We know where we want to end up”: State Secretary of EDA optimistic about negotiations with the EU

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State Secretary Alexandre Fasel (62) is optimistic. On Wednesday, he said at a media briefing in Bern that he thinks there is a good chance of an agreement with the EU. But: this requires a unified domestic policy.

After Switzerland approved a draft negotiating mandate with the EU on Friday, a corresponding draft from the European Commission followed on Monday.

Based on this, we now want to try to develop the intersection, says Fasel. The chances of an agreement are good. The State Secretary will play a coordinating role between the negotiations in Brussels and the discussions at domestic political level in Switzerland.

No concrete answers about the time frame

“We need to develop a domestic political consensus. Switzerland can only do what it can agree on,” said the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (EDA).

The aim is to go to Parliament at the same time to allow ratification. Domestic political discussions will focus on issues such as wage protection, while unions demand guarantees to prevent the risk of dumping.

Regarding a possible time frame for negotiations with the EU, Fasel said he could not provide concrete answers because there were too many factors involved. The aim is to start negotiations on the new package with Brussels at the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter.

“Knowing where we want to end up”

It is important to start negotiations with the current European Commission. The issue will then be pursued independently of the new commission that will emerge from the European elections in early June 2024.

Diplomats from Switzerland and the EU held a series of exploratory talks between April and October last year. As part of this, common ‘landing zones’ were defined, which were laid down in a joint declaration. This document will serve as a basis for future negotiations between Bern and Brussels. “We know what is being negotiated and where we want to go,” said Fasel.

Fasel highlighted the positive results of the exploratory talks, which would provide a basis for expanding Switzerland’s participation in the internal market. It will also be able to restart certain programs such as Horizon or Erasmus+. (SDA)

Source:Blick