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European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic (56) also recalled the rules of the game at the University of Fribourg on Wednesday: “The doors of the EU were always open to Switzerland”. “The status quo is not an option” and “relations between Switzerland and the EU must move with the times”.
For Sefcovic, it is “urgent to strike a balance between the interests of Brussels and Bern” in order to “unleash the full potential of this collaboration”.
«Complete negotiations by the summer of 2024»
The two-day visit of the EU Commissioner to Switzerland and in particular the meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening with Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis (61) is intended to allow an “stocktaking” of the current round of exploratory talks. For the Slovak, the goal is “to conclude the negotiations by the summer of 2024”.
According to Bern and Brussels, the talks will only be an “exchange of views”.
On Thursday, Sefcovic will meet members of the foreign affairs committees of the federal parliament, as well as representatives of the social partners and the conference of cantonal governments.
Further round of talks in April
Sefcovic leads the Commission’s work on the European Union’s relations with non-EU countries, including Switzerland, and in particular oversees ongoing discussions on the future relationship between Switzerland and the EU since the termination of the institutional framework agreement in May 2021.
Negotiations have stalled since Switzerland buried the framework agreement with the EU in spring 2021. Most recently, the Swiss Secretary of State Livia Leu (62) was in Brussels in early March for exploratory talks. At the time, both sides announced that another round of talks would take place at the end of April. (SDA)
Source:Blick
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