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There is a good basis for an acceptable outcome for the envisaged negotiations on Switzerland’s relations with the EU. With this statement, the Foreign Policy Committee of the Council of States supports the plans of the Federal Council, as well as the cantons and the sister committee of the National Council.
The majority of the committee of the Council of States approves the scope of the negotiating guidelines, the parliamentary services announced on Tuesday. The committee approved its advice with 9 votes in favor and 3 against with one abstention.
The majority supports the Federal Council in starting negotiations with the European Commission. In the extensive and controversial discussions, the closer institutional links, the proposed dispute settlement mechanism and the EU Citizens Directive were partly questioned.
The package approach, the integration of institutional rules into market access agreements and the waiving of guillotine clauses in new contracts are supported. The Commission hopes this will provide additional negotiating power – and the opportunity to abandon individual agreements if they are not satisfied.
The Commission calls for additional guarantees
However, the Commission insists on additional guarantees. For example, the EU Citizens Directive should only be adopted with strict reference to the labor market. Illegal or unwanted receipt of social benefits must be prevented.
The principle of “same pay for the same work in the same place” should apply to workers posted to Switzerland, including costs. If that doesn’t work, a Swiss solution must be found domestically, in line with the practice of other EU countries.
There was criticism during the realization of the intended electricity agreement. Several members were critical of including electricity trade and electricity production in the negotiations.
The Commission believes that the electricity agreement should focus on cooperation in the areas of grid stability, electricity trade and security of supply. It must be guaranteed that private households and SMEs have the choice between the free market and remaining in protected basic services.
In addition, the Commission advocates that Swiss production forms and capacities in the electricity sector be determined by contract. This also applies to granting concessions.
Does not affect national traffic
In the Commission’s view, updating the Land Transport Agreement should not affect national traffic and routes should be secured. If several companies compete to use the network for national transport, Switzerland must decide.
The Commission believes that the competence of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) should be limited. If necessary, the ECJ can only take indirect action to interpret terms from EU law, at the request of the arbitral tribunal. The arbitral tribunal must ultimately be able to decide whether to refer the matter to the ECJ.
A rapid and permanent full involvement of Switzerland in the “Horizon” research program and the “Erasmus+” exchange program is also a concern for the Commission. The cantonal authorities have also formulated this requirement.
The referendum question remains open
Furthermore, the Commission demands that the Federal Council explain how the implementation of the agreements will be handled domestically. She discusses the involvement of parliament and the definition and composition of the local supervisory authorities. She is also interested in establishing an institutional exchange between the Swiss Parliament and the EU Parliament.
Like its sister committee of the National Council, the Foreign Policy Committee of the Council of States does not want to deal with the referendum issue until the outcome of the negotiations is available. (SDA)
Source:Blick
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