Switzerland – EU: Commission of the National Council welcomes the draft EU negotiating mandate

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The Federal Council can maintain its course to conclude negotiations with the EU by the end of this year. Parliament is not standing in the way at the moment. The Foreign Policy Committee of the National Council (APK-N) fundamentally welcomes the draft negotiating mandate, as it announced to the media in Bern on Tuesday. She recommends that the Federal Council start negotiations with the EU. The aim is to stabilize and further develop the stalled situation in relations between Switzerland and the EU.

The committee had previously processed 25 applications from its ranks, according to APK-N chairman Laurent Wehrli (58, FDP). Requests from the SVP not to participate in the negotiating mandate and to avoid an institutional link with the EU were clearly rejected. The nine SVP committee members were on their own.

The majority of the APK-N agreed with the draft mandate and specified individual points, as Wehrli explained.

In mid-December, the Federal Council presented its guidelines for the negotiations. A few days later, the European Commission published the draft of its negotiating mandate. The stated goal on both the Swiss and EU sides is to be able to start negotiations in the spring.

(oco/SDA)

Source:Blick