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On Tuesday, the European Commission approved the joint statement with Switzerland in Strasbourg. It is also prepared to hold technical discussions with Switzerland about the EU research program “Horizon Europe”.

However, the final negotiations on the EU programs could only begin as part of the official negotiations on the deal package, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said in response to a question from journalists.

Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission, for his part, welcomed the joint statement on the short message service X (formerly Twitter): “This is a welcome and important step in our bilateral relationship.” The declaration will form the basis for negotiations between the EU and Switzerland on an agreement package, according to the EU commissioner responsible for the Switzerland file.

However, the European Commission has not yet presented a draft mandate for the actual negotiations. Switzerland is also working on drawing up a negotiating mandate.

Broad package approach

Diplomats from Switzerland and the EU have been conducting exploratory talks since April 2022. The final round took place on October 27 this year.

In addition to institutional issues such as dispute resolution and dynamic legal transfer, these discussions also covered new agreements on electricity, health and food safety.

This agreement package also includes Switzerland’s resumption in the EU research and education programs ‘Horizon Europe’ and ‘Erasmus plus’. This should also include the regular payment of a cohesion contribution. (sda)