New documents released: how Ogi’s charm offensive calmed Europe

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It was a European political mess. More than thirty years ago, Switzerland said ‘no’ to joining the European Economic Area (EEA). The Federal Council had campaigned intensively for a “yes” vote and even submitted an application for membership of the EU. But the opponents around SVP mastermind Christoph Blocher (83) won. It was mainly SVP councilor Adolf Ogi (81) who had to pick up the pieces in his subsequent presidential year.

Just this year, when the Federal Council led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis (62) will discuss a new edition of the framework agreement with the European Union, previously unpublished files from 30 years ago became public, showing how Ogi and his colleagues from the Federal Council laid the foundation for the bilateral contracts.

Cabbage in Switzerland

“The files show that the Federal Council, in response to the state of shock following the EEA’s no vote, launched an unprecedented visiting offensive, allowing the start of bilateral sectoral negotiations with the European Union by the end of the year,” says historian Sacha Zala (55). He and his team evaluated approximately 1,700 files that previously had a protection period of 30 years.

Rarely has the Federal Council welcomed so many heads of state and government to Switzerland in one year. At the pompous Lohn estate, Ogi, Flavio Cotti (1939 – 2020) and Kaspar Villiger (82) shook hands with, among others, the then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (1930-2017) in the guesthouse of the Federal Council in Kehrsatz near Bern.

Ogi’s handwritten notes show what was discussed in the confidential conversation: Kohl reportedly said that Swiss resistance would be of no use in the long term. The German chancellor later revealed to a journalist that Switzerland would soon pursue full accession.

Previously, the WEF held meetings with the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands and Portugal, and in April with British Prime Minister John Major (80). Ogi and his colleagues have repeatedly promoted the Swiss position.

“I felt ashamed like a dog”

Ogi himself traveled to France, where he unexpectedly met French President François Mitterrand (1916–1996). “We then drove up in the Volvo, complete with guard reception. “I was as ashamed as a dog and was afraid that this would only get an audience of five minutes at best,” Ogi told the “NZZ”. ‘But I got along very well with Mitterrand, this walking monument.’ Thus came the invitation for a return visit, which Mitterrand accepted in December 1993 and traveled to Kandersteg.

Foreign visits by sitting federal presidents were not common at the time, but the State Department changed the rules. ‘I was a taboo breaker. “My predecessors stayed at home, just like the hut attendants in the SAC huts,” Ogi told “NZZ”. He took part, among other things, in the funeral of the Belgian king in Brussels. “Mitterrand took me by the hand and introduced me everywhere: ‘Je vous presente le Président de la Suisse!’ Something like that opens doors.”

Similar problems today

In November 1993, the successes of the Swiss charm offensive became clear. The Council of European Foreign Ministers indicates that negotiations on sectoral, bilateral agreements are possible. Fortunately, joining the EU or a new edition of the EEA vote, which was also considered, would probably not have had any chance at home.

Foreign Minister Cotti put the success into perspective: “Good lawyers, if not friends, stood up for Switzerland.” Because the states were divided. Spain and Portugal, for example, wanted to make family reunification easier because many of their compatriots worked in Switzerland.

Negotiations on the bilateral agreements had only just begun. And even though Switzerland has now signed it, the points of contention are partly reminiscent of the problems that Ignazio Cassis and the current Federal Council must solve. (brother/SDA)

Source:Blick