With the Europe Initiative, an alliance of civil society wants to oblige the Federal Council to immediately start negotiations with the EU. However, the financial resources are lacking for the launch. With crowdfunding, CHF 500,000 should come together in January.
«We have a motivated alliance, a catchy initiative text, the courage for a European political awakening. But one thing is still missing: the necessary money,” said Sanija Ameti (30), co-chair of Operation Libero. In addition to the pro-European movement, the Greens, the group La Suisse en Europe, the umbrella organization for cultural workers Suisseculture, the pro-European movement Volt Switzerland and the Association of Swiss Student Unions (VSS) are behind the initiative.
It finally has to go ahead
It hopes the support of many small donors and civil society actors “who want constructive and stable cooperation between Switzerland and the EU,” the alliance said on Thursday.
The thread of patience has broken after the Council of States committee postponed the decision on a European law for the third time last week. European politics does not want to rely on “postponing time and moving the stage”, but ultimately “moving forward”. The intention is to present the initiative to the Federal Chancellery at the beginning of this year.
It’s all about this
The Europe Initiative requires active cooperation with the EU. The core is the binding mandate to the Federal Council to immediately start negotiations with the EU to clarify institutional issues. According to the initiative text, the Federal Council must immediately negotiate contracts that allow for an institutional solution and submit them to Parliament.
A long-term commitment to Europe would then be in the constitution for the first time. The initiative does not exclude accession to the EEA Agreement or accession to the European Union.
Ice Age between Bern and Brussels
With an ice block with the inscription “European policy” on the Bundesplatz, the organizations have depicted the “ice age between Switzerland and the European Union”. Objects frozen in it should also show that cooperation in culture, research, education and energy supply is frozen, the alliance said. The alliance is about to start a much-needed thaw in European politics. (SDA/lha)